


When the World Stills

by Katara99x



Series: When the World Ends [1]
Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: Action, Aftermath of Torture, Aged-Up Character(s), Airbender Ty Lee (Avatar), Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Anxiety, Bloodbending (Avatar), Character Study, Complicated Relationships, F/F, F/M, Fluff and Angst, Found Family, Friends to Lovers, Hurt/Comfort, Morally Grey Characters, Panic Attacks, Psychological Trauma, Resistance, Slow Burn, Sozin's Comet, Suicidal Thoughts, THIS IS NOT GOING THE WAY YOU THINK, extended timeline, i will add more tags, not really all romance, will be dark
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-27
Updated: 2021-03-18
Packaged: 2021-03-18 07:42:29
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 10
Words: 41,929
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29730606
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Katara99x/pseuds/Katara99x
Summary: “Of course he’s failing! He thinks all his friends are dead! We have to go back.” Her voice was cold as ice.“Katara.” He warned.“No. This is ridiculous. Aang needs us! We’re his teachers.” She was fuming pointing between herself, him, and Toph.“No he doesn’t. This isn’t about his feelings anymore Katara. This is bigger than his wants. And the only think that was blocking him from accessing the Avatar state was you.” Suki responded calmly with an air of authority.“Oh that’s rich! How are you going to blame me for this!” The waterbender barked as she slammed her palm into her chest.“I’m not, but his infatuation with you is a problem! You being there to continue to feed his obsession clearly isn’t going to help! We have to make the hard decisions that he won’t!” The Kyoshi warrior hissed back.________The battle of Sozin's Comet ends in failure with Ozai alive to rule the land. The team is separated and left to sort through the aftermath that has left them scarred both mentally and physically. While in hiding they will discover secrets surrounding both friends and enemies that will alter the course of destiny.
Relationships: Katara/Zuko (Avatar), Sokka/Suki (Avatar)
Series: When the World Ends [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2207898
Comments: 81
Kudos: 98





	1. The Beginning of the End

**Author's Note:**

> Please read (:
> 
> Story is mostly canon compliant. Aang’s journey took place over 3 years rather than a couple of months and starts in the fall. Characters are aged up according to birthdays I’ve assigned, it will become clear throughout the story. The big changes in the storyline occur after the Day of Black Sun and should become clear throughout this first book in the planned series(yes this a longhaul type of fic, I have BIG PLANS). This first book will have a lot of flashbacks so please be patient, it would be easier to tell you, but I want to build the story as a lot of the changes will come into play for several plot lines. Zuko joined the gang in the fall during their 3rd year, traveling with them for almost a year, thus creating deeper connections with the characters. Story starts during the battle of Sozin’s comet which is early summer at the end of their 3rd year of travel. I will be switching perspectives, but it should be clear based on narrative. Thank you!!!

The only thing Toph could sense was the body holding onto her fingertips as they both hovered above what was sure to be a fall to their death. Damp streaks trickled across her face as she prayed to whatever bullshit Gods her tutors had imposed on her when she was younger. She had lost control, Toph hated when things were outside of her control. What's worse, she couldn’t see _anything_. 

Sokka was screaming something about his damn boomerang and everything was incomprehensible besides the desperation she had never before heard laced in his tone. 

Then they were falling. And now she _really_ couldn’t see. Rabid screams faded into white noise surrounding her as her thoughts went blank. Nothing flashed before her eyes except darkness, but feelings of warmth reminded her of the rare bursts of happiness she experienced with her makeshift family over the past two years of her new life. Then without warning her body crashed violently into Sokka’s who rolled them over onto the sweet coldness of her favorite element. Metal reignited her senses and she realized that instead of death greeting them it was another airship. The momentary sense of relief mixed with confusion was cut short by Sokka’s blood curdling screams, snapping her back to reality. 

“What’s wrong!? Sokka! SOKKA!” Her small hands reached out towards the familiar body.

“Toph I can’t- my leg and my arm… you need to go Toph. _Run_ , Suki will help me.” His attempts to push her away proved futile with his weakened strength.

“Like hell! I’m not leaving you snoozles.”

Suddenly she was being dragged up by a frantic Suki reciting clear instructions of what needed to be done, grunting only when she hoisted her boyfriend over her burned shoulder. Suki was beside herself, the calm and collected warrior was scared. She kept a panicked tone talking about a strange light emitting on the battlefield, worry clear in her speech.

______

Katara felt the blood drain from her face as she watched her teammate - no her _friend_ \- Zuko crumple to the ground, twitching with lightning still pulsing through his veins. Her mind went red, redder than the day she confronted Yon Rah and suddenly her body was reacting faster than her mind could process. She ran towards him only to be jolted away by another column of deadly blue light. 

As she dodged strike after strike she took refuge behind a pillar before glancing around her surroundings with the cackling of the mad princess filling her ears. Forcing her mind to clear she finally caught up to her body and the pure rage surging through her blood, vowing to let it lead her in this battle.

She had fought Azula before, but she couldn’t distinguish that girl anymore from the hardened shell that seemed to replace her. Now an animalistic monster stood across from her seeming not to care even for her own flesh and blood.

_What had happened since Zuko left the palace?_

Katara shook her head clear of her thoughts, there was time for that later. Now she needed to save Zuko, a single goal was all that mattered. The _only_ thing that mattered. 

The comet burned high in the sky, showcased in the power still present in Azula's enormous blue flames. There was no outfighting the princess, the only choice left was to be smarter, more ruthless, and more cunning. As night began to creep in, Katara traveled deep into her abyss preparing to harness the darkest power in her arsenal. One last deep breath before she stepped out from her hiding spot using water to form ice slides across the courtyard with Azula hot on her tail. Once above the grates that housed running water beneath them she smiled slyly and forced all her concentration into her bending. One chance was all she had before her opponent would surely blast away all the water with her immense fire. When the girl was distracted charging up for an attack she coiled the water up from the canal to encapsulate the firebender’s wrists pulling them down against the grates hardening to ice. Before Azula had a second to melt the cuffs away Katara went deep into every rage filled cell within her body, thinking of Zuko dying footsteps away from her, and she grabbed hold of every ounce of blood in her opponents body. 

Azula’s eyes widened but she couldn’t form any speech as her body contorted to Katara’s will as she forced her on her knees and her arms behind her body in perfect position to be apprehended. The power of Yue was weak and every second took all of her strength and focus to maintain her hold while wrapping heavy metal around the surprisingly delicate wrists of this monster. Chains dangled heavily and a darkness flashed across golden eyes as Azula screamed out with blue fire pouring from her mouth.

“WITCH I WILL FUCKING KILL YOU MARK MY WORDS.”

Katara ran. 

She dropped to her knees in front of Zuko and looked for strength within herself, grasping at her compassion and attachment to her friend as she poured her entire being into healing him. His eyes fluttered but he just couldn’t seem to wake up as she stared at him through blurry eyes. The uncertainty of the situation began to dawn on her as they sat vulnerable in the heart of enemy territory. Too many things felt on edge and when fire sages slowly started to approach them Katara felt her hair stand on end. It wasn’t safe here and she couldn’t let anything happen to him. 

Muscles aching from exertion wouldn’t stop her as she pushed past the physical pain gathering all the resolve left within her body to halt everyone in their tracks holding onto their blood. Her fingers grasped Zuko’s body, reminiscent of a year ago when she saved Aang from a similar fate, then she shifted her hold from blood to water, gathering every drop within their vicinity thrusting them towards Appa. Landing on his back she cried over Zuko’s exposed chest and shouted at the top of her lungs.

“Yip, yip!”

______

Toph lied. She was leaving both of them. But this plan was straightforward and gave them some sort of direction. Suki described strange red and white beams of light that were overtaking the sky in a fight for power. Toph hadn’t really seen much of - well anything - in her life, but if she could bet 1000 gold pieces she was as sure as anyone that they were witnessing a battle between good and evil. And it was unclear who was winning. 

After Toph left Sokka and Suki in the control room she headed to the rest of the ship, encased in metal armor, destroying what was remaining of the crew. Sokka was no help in his current state so he stayed behind with Suki helping direct her on how to fly the ship closer to Aang. Even if they lost they couldn’t let him die and their priorities shifted once again to protecting the Avatar. 

Toph was overheating and drenched in sweat, growing tired of being on a hunk of metal in the air. More people died at her hands than she could count in the last thirty minutes and she wondered if she would ever remember a time before this. A version of herself who wasn't hardened from the blood spilled from the weapons held at the ends of her wrists. Farewell to the timid twelve year old daughter of Earth Kingdom Nobles, at fourteen she has become a warrior who knows the death that comes with battle. You can’t just forget these things. 

______

Suki could’t allow herself to let any of the panic seep in that lay dormant in her body, waiting to explode. Razor-sharp focus guided her movements as she pressed every button and pulled every lever that her mangled boyfriend directed her to, in-between rough gasps, from his position on the floor. Dried blood caked on his clothing, causing her stomach to churn everytime she glanced his way. 

_Warrior._

That’s who she always was first, everything else came second. It had to. And so she pushed through all the worry and despair eating away at her and kept going towards the task that held priority. Even as her entire world was crumbling next to her feet in the form of a stubborn warrior who drove her mad.

The sky was too red. Aang still wasn’t visible, but her gut told her something was wrong. Kyoshi trained them to trust that instinct more than anything. Then she saw it in her peripheral, white fur growing larger on the horizon and her heart sunk even further than she thought possible. 

“Suki… what is it?” She blinked and shook off the chill in her body.

“Nothing.”

“Suki.” Sokka’s voice was firm, reassuring. “I can handle it. What’s going on?”

Bowing her head she looked into Sokka’s blazing blue eyes and gulped back the bile that rose in her throat.

“It’s Appa. And I think I see Katara. I— I don’t see Zuko.”

Sokka took in a sharp intake of breath muttering a few curses under it. He slowly forced himself up despite Suki’s protests and immediately kicked into action, dictating orders like he would to any of his men. 

Suki listened attentively before running to the staircase like a good soldier. She opened the hatch to scramble on top of the ship, then began wildly jumping while screaming Katara’s name praying that she would see her. 

______

Katara couldn’t see anything through her clouded vision. All of the water was being sucked out of the air on their journey from Caldera, a permanent blue glow lighting her face, as she willed Zuko to just. wake. up. 

He was being kept alive thanks to her healing hands, but she wasn’t sure if he would ever open those golden eyes to look at her again. Those infuriating eyes. How could he be so foolish? The world _needed_ him for peace, not her, surely he couldn’t be such a fool. She was draining her reserves for every ounce of energy that remained in her body. Adrenaline was the only thing keeping her afloat along with the desire to scream at him for being such an idiot. Again. 

Then suddenly her trance was broken. 

“KATARA! KATARAAAA! KATARRAAAAAA IT’S SUKI!!!”

Her head snapped up to meet the eyes of a warrior, feeling a strange mixture of relief and despair. She was alive in body, but would any of them really feel alive in spirit after all this. 

Appa turned towards Suki as she held his reins to guide him on the airship. After crashing she noticed the strange light emitting from the battlefield that they were headed straight for. 

Suki scrambled up Appa’s side to the saddle.

“Katara! Thank Agni you’re alive, where’s Zu-“

Suki silenced as her eyes widened at the sight of him laying in the saddle, his chest bearing the answer to her question in the form of thin webs of exposed tissue all branching out from the large patch of mangled skin. 

“Is he alive?” Suki managed to mutter.

“Yes. Barely. I have to keep healing him.” They spoke in whispers as if it was some secret that needed to be kept from the world.

“Okay.”

“Where’s Sokka? Toph?” She ripped her eyes away from the frail firebender to stare at Suki’s face. 

“Sokka… OH. Sokka he’s not doing so good Katara.” Suki began to chew her lower lip. “He got hurt pretty badly. He’s in the control room. Toph is taking out the rest of the crew on the ship.”

“Tui and La, what are we going to do now?”

“I have a plan. And now that you’re here I think it just got a thousand times easier. Wait here.”

______

Suki ran. The battle was surging through her again. Her doubts disappeared and she felt the energy of Kyoshi pumping in her veins.

She found Toph towards the back of the ship stripping away the remains of her metal suit.

“Toph! Follow me, come quickly. I’ll explain on the way, just hurry.”

Her small friend followed without hesitation asking questions regarding what was going on and if the plan had changed.

“Yes. Katara and Zuko are here, but no we can’t go see them yet, I’m sorry Toph. Just trust me, I know how to get us all out of here. We need to get to Sokka and take him to the top of the ship. That’s where you and that handy metal bending comes in. I’ll explain the rest when we’re all together. Just please trust me.”

“I trust you Suki. We can do this.” A small hand squeezed her own and she looked over to see a nod of approval from the earthbender. 

Suki felt light on her feet and knew that her friends had her back not just as a warrior but as someone they loved. 

______

Toph grunted as she bended the vessel she crafted up to the top of the ship. Sokka weighed a lot more than she anticipated but they didn’t have time to waste as they approached the pillars of rock hosting the battle. A hot breeze hit her skin as two strong arms hoisted her atop the ship. Immediately her feet settled to detect the bodies present around her. Sokka remained stationary in the metal container, Suki stood in front of her fussing with adjusting her ruffled tunic, and the familiar presence of her two friends were felt a few feet away.

“Toph! Sokka! You guys are alive thank Tui!” Katara choked out from her perch on the floor. 

“Yeah Sugarqueen, can’t get rid of us that easily.”

“Glad you’re alive sis.” Sokka leaned against the side of the container holding himself up with an arm resting on the edge. “What’s wrong with Zuko?”

Toph stopped breathing.

“Wrong? What are you guys talking about? Sparky? Sparky?! SPARKY?! Why isn’t he answering me Katara?!”

“Oh Toph, there’s no time to explain, he’s still alive but I have to keep healing him. Azula is - off her rocker to put it nicely, I don’t know what happened to her but she’s even worse if you can believe that.”

Her throat began constricting at the thought that her big brother couldn’t even speak to reassure her anymore, but she held back her tears because there wasn’t any time for that. 

“Whatever, what’s the plan Suki.” It was all bark with the lack of bite to back up her attitude.

“Right, thanks Toph. Okay first Katara you need to heal your brother. Then…”

Toph zoned out and thought of everything that could go wrong. Sparky, Sugarqueen, and herself were as good as sitting ducks. All she could do was protect her friends as Katara kept trying to bring Zuko back to life.

______

Suki saw the red overtaking the sky and glanced at Sokka with wide eyes. He looked just as scared as she felt and he trained his eyes back into a mask of determination as he surged Appa faster towards the Avatar. 

This entire plan was a long-shot. A lot of things could go wrong, would probably go wrong. But they were just a bunch of kids and the only goal left was to stay alive. 

As they dove closer they saw Aang with his arms placed on Ozai’s head and chest, light emanating from both of their mouths and eyes brightening the entire sky in colliding colors.

“What is he doing?” Sokka’s voice held a hardness that rivaled steel. “I told him to kill that son of a bitch. We should’ve listened to Zuko.”

“Maybe it’s some weird Avatar stuff?” She knew her face contradicted her hopeful statement as her brow furrowed in confusion.

“Yeah. Right and maybe I’ll start washing my socks everyday.”

Their voices drifted as they watched in shock as the red overtook the white and Aang was blasted backwards into a column of rocks. Ozai rose into the air on rockets of flame and the battle began again, only Aang couldn’t seem to get his bearings.

“Why isn’t he accessing the Avatar state!” Sokka’s jaw clenched as his eyes narrowed.

“Sokka… I don’t have a good feeling about this.” She gripped onto the fur beneath her fingertips.

“Me either Suki. I’m going in. We need to get out of here. Clearly this battle won’t be won today. Let’s get Aang.”

“Okay. I’ve got your back.”

He looked over to her and kissed her lightly on the lips, his eyes softened in that familiar way that held everything he wanted to say in the glittering blues. 

They dove, and watched with horror as Aang banged against another column of earth and began falling from the sky.

______

The heartbeat beneath her glowing hands grew steady. He was alive but caught in a deep sleep and the only thing left for her to do was maintain his stabilization. She intended to do a deeper healing session when they landed somewhere safe. Leaning back on her heels she brought herself to a seated position slouching in exhaustion before turning her attention towards the battle.

Katara looked in horror as the sky went completely red and in that moment a sense of dread told her everything she needed to know. 

“Toph.”

“Yeah sugarqueen?”

“Toph. We lost.” Her breathing was ragged.

“What the hell are you talking about?”

“Toph. Just trust me on this. We just lost.”

The silence grew thick in the humid air. 

Toph broke it with a panicked voice, “Okay. We lost. What the fuck do we do? If they find us here they’ll kill us.”

“I know.”

Katara thought over everything and ran through every possible scenario. The plan was to stay on top of the airship to get picked up by Appa since Zuko was essentially dead weight. But Katara had a sinking feeling they weren’t making it back and racked her brain to remember everything Sokka briefly explained about navigation in case the plan went south. All she had to do was get them to land. That’s it and then they would figure it out later and try to meet up. Where? Well they’d just have to figure that out later too. 

“Toph, I’m gonna put Zuko in the container you made for Sokka and you’re gonna bend us back down to the control room and we’re gonna have to land and go from there. Do you understand?”

Toph looked like she saw a ghost.

“DO YOU UNDERSTAND TOPH?”

“Yes.”

“Okay. Let’s go.”

_______

Her plan was not going well. They caught Aang as he fell from his impact, but he passed out while Ozai burned all the land beneath him as he pursued them with the propel of his flames. They only had two options. Get everyone else and risk all of them dying, or keep Ozai away from the ship and hope the others make it out safe. 

They stuck with the latter. 

She looked back and saw the airship begin to sail downwards and let out the breath she was holding. They could get away from Ozai as long as they kept out of his reach until the end of the comet. They would figure the rest out later. Later. 

“Suki they’re falling too fast.”

“What?”

Her head whipped around to witness the airship plummeting towards the ground at a concerning speed. It gained traction rapidly and crashed down with a huge explosion taking Ozai’s attention briefly away from them. 

“No-“ she choked back her tears and faced away from what must be the remains of her friends. 

Sokka’s eyes stayed trained on the black smoke, mouth agape and eyes wide as he tightened the reins in his hands until his knuckles turned white. 

“Sokka I-“

“It’s not your fault Suki. This is war.” She gulped and swallowed her cries. “We all knew what we were getting into. Maybe they made it out. Right now we focus on the mission. Get Aang out of here, alive. I love you always.”

Suki’s heart clenched with guilt. It was her fault, this was all her plan. The plan of a warrior whose judgment was clouded by the love of her comrades. She swallowed down any response because all she could think in her head was. _There’s no way anyone made it out of that alive._

________

Toph was coughing up a thick substance that held the same consistency as blood and her ears were ringing from Katara’s painful screams. The past 10 minutes felt like a prolonged hour of battle and quick decisions that somehow kept them alive.

Of course nothing went as planned because it seemed this entire day was destined for failure on the part of team Avatar.

Katara had pressed the wrong button or levers, Toph didn’t know the difference, and all of a sudden they had begun falling, rapidly. Toph bended the metal from the bottom of the ship and formed it into a makeshift slide as long as she could and they both pushed Zuko’s vessel down it with them following. Then it was a free-fall and once again Toph HATED that she just couldn’t see. Katara bended all the water she could muster and cushioned their fall as best she could. Zuko was safe in his metal makeshift coffin, Katara had broken her legs, and Toph landed roughly on her side with a piece of metal piercing through her abdomen.

There wasn’t time to feel the pain or deal with the viscous liquid pouring from her mouth. Katara just kept screaming that the ship was coming down fast. Toph bent away the earth and covered them all underground as far down as she could go before a resounding explosion came from above. 

They were alive.

Now Toph needed to get them somewhere with water, fast, before Katara or her passed out from their injuries and she couldn’t heal them. Time was not a luxury they had anymore. 

Toph formed a makeshift cart and hoisted Zuko into it, she then pulled Katara up ignoring her agonizing screams as she pushed her atop the metal. She jumped in standing up front before beginning to earthbend them through a tunnel, begging Katara to look for a water source.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Meta bits:  
> Okay so I decided that Katara had to bloodbend to restrain Azula because I wanted things more realistic in my fic so there's no way she could've overpowered a firebender during the comet with just some ice, hence turning to her dark power. Like Azula would have just blasted through it and Katara is strong, obviously since she can bloodbend without the entire moon out, but she's not the Avatar so during the comet I wanted her fight to be more difficult. This chapter was very action packed so I hope it wasn't too difficult to follow, but the following will be a lot more mellow pace wise. 
> 
> Toph is so fun to write but also challenging, I'm trying to focus in as if we are in her head and thus using only the 4 senses she has. Suki is a badass and I love her character and can't wait to flush out her storyline. Also I know poor Zuko, again more realistic, my dude is not just gonna pop awake with a little water healing. LIKE HIS INSIDES ALMOST GOT FRIED OK HE NEEDS MAJOR WORK. 
> 
> This is just the beginning but pls let me know what you think! I'll always include my little ramblings at the end because I've done so much research to make this story as authentic as possible and I love to ramble. I've been working on this for months and I finally got the courage to just post it, especially after all the new Avatar news that really got me re-excited for the fandom! 
> 
> Update schedule is TBD but I have most of this first book written out, I just have to edit which is a bit meticulous.


	2. Rescue Me

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Got this chapter edited a lot faster! Just want to give a quick friendly reminder to be aware of the tags as some of the more serious ones apply to the latter half of this chapter. Read with care (:
> 
> Also we get a little background on what some of the Gaang was up to in the year leading up to Sozin's Comet and what exactly went different on the Day of Black Sun.

Suki’s eyes felt heavy as she led Appa towards the rendezvous point set up by her, Sokka, and Zuko with the help of the resistance prior to Sozin’s Comet. She glanced over to the two sleeping boys in the saddle and found her mind drifting back to the past few months. 

After she was captured during the Coup of Ba Sing Se, she spent several months in the Boiling Rock being questioned by the Dai Li and going through intense interrogations with the Crown Princess Azula. Suki often found herself coming out of these meetings with intense burns and was left to starve for the first month of her imprisonment. Despite her pain Suki never revealed what she knew and began to lose hope about coming out of the situation alive.

Then one day her cell was opened to reveal none other than her occasional lover Sokka in a guards uniform. She was over the moon and he filled her in on his reasons for being at the prison. Him and Prince Zuko were searching for Katara who had met a similar fate during the invasion, where she was captured. They were planning on getting them both out and he indulged her in both the plan and hundreds of kisses. 

Unfortunately, Katara wasn’t being held at the Boiling Rock as they soon found out from Zuko’s ex-girlfriend Mai. She was put in a new prison that had been built before the invasion called the White Castle. It was impenetrable and created in hopes of capturing the Avatar’s closest accomplices. They all felt hopeless but were able to escape along with Sokka’s father thanks to the help of Mai. 

After the bittersweet rescue Sokka and Zuko began to feel restless and needed to do something with their time to avoid obsessing over Katara’s imprisonment. They became close after their prison rescue and decided to become partners in creating a resistance force that could assist with the upcoming battle that loomed over in a little less than a year. They recruited Suki to assist with her knowledge in combat and connection to the Earth Kingdom. After her recovery from her wounds and building up her body mass, they set to work and quickly grew into a full fledged underground militia. 

Zuko refused to allow Toph to enlist as a ranking member as he was always protective over the young earthbender who had become rather fragile after Katara’s capture. However, she assisted in building their secret headquarters in the mountains under Taku, near the Pohuai Stronghold. They were right under the fire nation’s nose and it allowed intelligence to be collected rather quickly during Zuko and Suki’s stealth missions to the fortress. Zuko became ranking general, with Suki and Sokka becoming the two highest ranking officers next to his right and left hand. They were able to organize forces with the assistance of Hakoda and Haru in the Water tribes and Earth Kingdom, respectively. By the time the comet came around they had an entire force under them with subdivisions headed by the three.

Suki had focused on the women warriors, teaching them hand-to-hand combat and stealth skills that would lead them on their mission to overtake the Pohuai Stronghold during the Comet when most forces would be in the airships. 

Suddenly, Suki was brought back to the present with a soft hand resting on her shoulder. 

“Hey you were falling asleep, maybe you should take a break.” His voice was raspy from exhaustion.

“Do you think they did it Sokka?”

“Who? Your girls?” His hand remained a firm anchor, rubbing circles into her collarbone.

“Yeah. What if we get there and the resistance is gone? What do we do then? Aang still hasn’t woken up.”

“Suki, they learned under you I can promise you they completed their mission. We’ll worry about Aang when we meet back up with the White Lotus at the rendezvous point.”

“Okay we should be there in an hour or so, I’m going to take a quick nap. Thank you Sokka.”

_______

The glow emanating from her hands reflected on Toph’s dirty face under the moonlight. After traveling underground for some time they were able to find a river bank far enough north that Toph couldn’t detect anyone else in the area. Katara healed her legs when she was shoved into the water and soon set to work on the serious injury within her tiny friends abdomen. After a couple hours of healing Katara had exhausted herself and fell into a deep sleep under the roof of a tiny earth tent that fit the three mangled teenagers. 

When she awoke the sun was barely beginning to rise and she quickly went to the river to rinse the dirt from her skin before starting on tasks for the day. She gathered some water and immediately went to Zuko’s side checking on the progress of his healing. He was still alive but she could sense that something near his heart wasn’t pumping correctly due to the immense amount of electric current that had run through him. As hard as she tried her healing didn’t seem to be sinking deep enough to heal what had been injured. She let out a frustrated sigh and went into the forest to gather some berries and mushrooms for her and Toph to eat for the next couple of days. 

_How can I wake Zuko up? Please Yue help me._

Katara had never felt more upset at her own abilities and wanted desperately to fix him. There had to be another option that she was missing. When she got back to camp Toph was sitting up cracking her neck. 

“Hey Sugarqueen where’d you go?” Toph’s spine cracked as she stretched her arms overhead. 

“I just gathered up some food for us, you should wash up Toph there’s a lot of dirt and blood on you.” She stilled. 

_Blood._

“You okay? Your heart just started beating out of control.”

_No. It couldn’t be so simple._

“Uh yeah, I’m just a little worried, Zuko still hasn’t woken up.”

Toph frowned at this. And began to reach towards the firebender, placing her small hands on his chest. 

“What’s wrong with him Katara, can’t you fix him? You can fix anything.” Tears began to well in her friends eyes and Katara felt lost on how to comfort her. 

“He’s not responding to my normal healing Toph, it seems to not be reaching the problems near his heart.” She looked away using her waterskin to rinse the small red berries.

“Well… what about your _advanced_ bending? I know- you haven’t wanted to use that technique since your escape, but it might save his life.”

Katara chewed her bottom lip in guilt as she thought back to Azula kneeling before her during the Agni Kai. She shook her head clear of the thought. 

“I actually have been thinking about it this morning and I think you’re right. Tomorrow under the moon when it’s stronger I’m going to try it. We can’t lose him too.” Her eyes were trained at the fruit resting in her palms.

“No we can’t.”

“Toph… will you stay with me while I heal him. I’m just a little scared to use it again especially on someone I care about. Sometimes I feel like I’m not even myself when all that power is clouding my mind.” She squeezed one hand closed and let the red juice trickle from her skin to the dirt.

“Of course sugarqueen, I’ve got your back. I have to from now on.”

_______

The Pohuai Stronghold coup was a strong success under Suki’s fleet of warriors and they were greeted with cheers that quickly dimmed upon realizing the absence of three members of the Avatar’s trusted close circle. Murmurs began as Suki jumped from the saddle helping Sokka carry the Avatar onto a stretcher that was brought out by medics from the Northern Tribe. Suki watched as Sokka took control of the crowd as the second in command under Zuko. 

“Warriors. We have fought a hard battle and have come out of it with some success as we have overtaken the Pohuai Stronghold. I would like to thank General Suki for her impressive work with the women warriors who have accomplished an amazing feat thanks to her guidance.” Sokka paused as he beamed at his girlfriend and she felt herself blush under the cheers of the crowd. She schooled her expression as Sokka continued. 

“However, with every battle comes casualty that we all knew was inevitable as we sacrifice ourselves for the greater good. The war is not over and Ozai is still at large. Head General Zuko’s location is currently unknown, and as such for the time being I am now ranking Head General. We would like some privacy from questioning as we recover and regroup. Now we will await the arrival of our allies of the White Lotus and our headquarters.

Healers I want your highest ranking working on the Avatar as he took a severe fall and we need him awake within the next couple of hours. Suki’s division please continue securing our new fortress and relay information back to our main base to allow the earth benders to connect our bases underground. My men, I want you to prepare for the arrival of the White Lotus and debrief them before bringing them to meet with me. Captain Kai please join me in the private offices along with General Suki. Thank you. You are all dismissed.”

The crowd seemed at a loss for words at the overwhelming announcements, but jumped into action at the bark of orders. Suki followed Sokka to one of the closed off offices, stopping only to hug several of her best trained warriors who she was overjoyed to see alive. She took her formal stance behind Sokka’s left shoulder as he sat waiting for Captain Kai to enter the chamber. Kai walked in several minutes later and immediately stood at attention, until Sokka grinned and started laughing at the unnecessary formalities in the presence of one of his closest friends. Suki joined with her giggles and they all sat down to catch Kai up to speed. 

Kai had become a close friend of the Water Tribe siblings during their stay in the Northern Tribe on the first year of their travels. Having always resented the strict cultural standards of the north gave him an instant bond with Katara who shook up the gender norms within the tribe. Being a water bender he would often spar with Katara and after Yue’s death he helped Sokka cope with his sadness through bottles of cheap ice wine that led to late night confessionals by the ice canals. They kept in touch over the years and when the resistance began he was one of the first recruits under Sokka’s branch. 

“Do you guys honestly think they’re dead? I mean I know what it looked like, but Katara is one of the strongest benders in the history of the water tribe, and Toph is innovative and ruthless. I just can’t accept that.” Kai looked pensive as he thought over everything that was relayed to him. 

“Look as much as I want to hope that my friends are still alive somewhere. I saw the explosion. It looked inescapable.” Suki finally said what had been fogging her brain. 

She looked over to Sokka whose brow was furrowed with his fingers resting on his chin. He opened and closed his mouth several times, eyes shifting over as if wanting to speak directly to her. 

“Suki look, do you honestly think that? I saw it too but shouldn’t we at least have a little faith. We’re talking about half the backbone of the Avatar’s personal team. I think we should give them a little more credit than that.” He sounded angry, but right now wasn’t the time to be dictated by emotions.

“Good faith doesn’t win wars Sokka. I think we all learned that lesson thanks to Aang.” She harshly bit out. 

“I know Suki! But that’s my sister! I can’t just give up on her like that. You should understand.”

Suki sighed as she realized she struck a nerve. 

“I do understand Sokka please. Those were MY friends too. In case you forgot. But we can’t waste resources searching for something that could be a dead end, while we still have Ozai and possibly Azula out there getting ready to continue this war. Zuko didn’t dedicate himself to creating this entire force just for it to go to shit because he disappeared. If they’re alive they’ll find us. They know where we are.”

“And what if they’re hurt? Or captured? Or worse?! What then Suki! We saved you!”

Suki’s mouth dropped and she felt herself recoil away from the two boys. 

“Suki I’m sorry… that came out wrong. I’m just low on sleep and I don’t know why I said that.” he turned his gaze down towards the papers strewn across the desk.

“It’s fine.” She mumbled before looking away. Suki quietly thanked Kyoshi that Kai decided to take over the conversation. 

“Listen, it’s been a long 24 hours we’re all exhausted and saying things we don’t mean. Please don’t let my favorite couple fight or I won’t be able to ruin your wedding as Sokka’s best man. Now in regards to Katara, Toph, and General Zuko. I agree with you both. Unfortunately things are too tense along with many things being up in the air and we can’t magically find them or waste our resources on a search party when we don’t know where we’re looking.

But, I don’t think they died out there. They’re too smart for that and the good news is they do know where to find us. However, to ease all of our minds I propose that I take on a private mission to seek out our three companions on my own accord. I’ll take minimal resources and I’m not high enough ranking to be missed or essentially needed. Please allow me to assist in finding our friends.”

“You’d really do that Kai?” Emotion laced her boyfriend's words.

“Of course Sokka, you know Katara and you are family to me. I won’t stop until I find them.”

“Thank you brother.”

She turned back and chimed in, “Okay boys, I think logistically speaking you should travel through all the small villages along the waterways looking for them. If they made it out they probably needed healing and they would want somewhere they could access water but also blend in seamlessly while making their way towards base.”

“Excellent thinking Suki” Sokka’s eyes lit up. “I’ll map out a rough sketch of the villages you should travel to for the road. Gather some supplies from the warriors' belongings and you can set out as soon as you’re rested.”

“Sounds great I’ll meet with you again before my departure to get the map Sokka. Thank you both, and I’m glad you’re alive.” Kai gave a sheepish grin as he swiftly exited the room. 

“I don’t think we should tell anyone about this, specifically Aang. I think the less he knows the better. The minute he wakes up we need to get to the bottom of what went wrong and have him focused on training for the next huge attack. If he thinks they’re alive he won’t want to focus on anything other than finding them.” The warrior in Sokka was speaking to her once again. 

Suki hummed her approval of Sokka’s thoughts. She was avoiding his eye contact and stood up quickly to make her way towards the door. She felt his eyes following her as she placed her hand on the knob and she looked back with a glare. 

“For the record I didn’t realize we were keeping count. Next time don’t bother saving me.”

She saw his eyes go wide and heard him groan as she slammed the door behind her and made her way back to her warriors. 

_______

Things had been hazy for a while now. He could make out hands caressing an ache that burned in his body but he could never reach out and thank whoever was casting the faint glow behind his eyelids. He would find himself in a repeating cycle of terror, a bright blue flash that would cause his mind to panic in a desire to wake up and manic cackling ringing in his ears. Unless she spoke to him in this weird dream-like state, then his visions would calm and he would feel some peace despite his lack of communication. She would whisper encouragement due to this strange illness he seemed to be suffering, but it was when he heard her faint sobs that he willed his body to react just to comfort her. Time felt immeasurable and he had no idea how long he stayed in limbo. 

Then suddenly he felt the warmth in his chest intensifying and pulsating with a fervor he hadn’t felt since his Agni Kai. His eyelids began to flutter open and confusion flooded his mind. 

“Mom? Where am I?”

He felt frantic shuffling around his body and willed his eyes to come focus on the woman hunching over his body. The glow of light was emanating much brighter now that he could see the source and he felt a strange tug on the blood in his chest. His eyes began to clear and he realized it wasn’t his mom, but Katara who was healing him. He was alive. He slowly brought his consciousness back to the present until he heard a blood curdling scream. 

Now he was awake. 

“KATARA. KATARA! WHAT’S WRONG. Fuck fuck fuck. Please Katara talk to me. Please.”

He realized the frantic voice belonged to the tiny earthbender. She sounded hopeless and he pushed through any discomfort to sit upright to comfort his little sister. 

The first thing he took in was Toph gripping Katara’s shoulders with tears running down her face. This was shocking to see from her tough persona and had Zuko immediately on edge. He saw Katara hunching over and shaking in slight convulsions as she screamed in agony over and over again. He immediately recognized the posture from another night where she sobbed in his arms after bloodbending on their mission to the Southern Raiders. She was having a full-blown attack and he wasn’t sure if he was the cause of her suffering, but his mind shifted to the overprotective nature he constantly feels around her. 

He scrambled over trying to keep in a few painful groans before grabbing both of the girls into his arms to bring them the comfort they both desperately needed. They slammed into his chest and he grit his teeth at the pain. It was trivial when somehow two of the most important women in his life were safe, alive, and in one piece. 

Toph was the first to react as she balled her hands into fists against his chest and went rigid at the contact. 

“-who… Sparky is that really you?” Her voice sounded small and he suddenly remembered her age.

“It’s really me Toph.”

Then she was sobbing even more and gripping furiously at his tunic as if to make sure this wasn’t all a dream. In that moment Katara’s breath slightly wavered and he felt her head tilt up to look at him with those big blue eyes. They were filled with as many tears as Toph’s were. 

“Zuko?” Her voice cracked.

“Katara.”

She took in a sharp inhale. 

“It worked. Spirits, it really worked!” He let out a breathy chuckle at her enthusiasm returning. 

“Okay catch me up later, but are you okay? Maybe you should lay down for a bit and do some of those meditation exercises we practiced. Your screams were definitely not the first thing I thought I would wake up to.”

Katara ducked her head in what he assumed to be embarrassment or shame, he can never really read her when she gets like this. He knows she doesn’t like showing her weakness around the rest of the group, but he didn’t care since he couldn’t get her desperate cries out of his head. 

_Speaking of the rest of the team-_

Zuko glanced around and suddenly realized that the rest of his friends were nowhere to be found, and neither is their fuzzy bison Appa. 

“Sorry guys I know I just woke up but… where is everyone else?”

And now Katara really was hysterical. He paused the conversation and instructed Toph to help him carry Katara over to the grassy area in order for her to lay down and take some deep breaths. He’s not strong enough yet to lift much of anything, so they struggled together to rest Katara in a peaceful spot away from the riverbank. Zuko began to direct her by counting out numbers to inhale and exhale to, just like they practiced. Her cries began to relax and she quietly continued her exercises as he turned to Toph to pick up the conversation.

“Okay Toph no sugar coating. What the fuck happened and where are we?”

“Well Sparky, boy do I have some news for you. First of all congrats on beating your sister! Bad news, Aang lost against Ozai. We think he’s still alive. Aang, Sokka, and Suki hopefully escaped on Appa with Ozai chasing after them. We aren’t really sure. We kind of crashed the airship and it exploded but lucky you had the greatest earth bender in the world, aka me, there to save all our skins. Fast forward we’ve been camping out here for a couple of days as Katara’s been trying to figure how to get you out of that nasty coma!”

Zuko felt the blood drain from his face and was suddenly faint at the influx of information just thrown at him. All he managed to choke out was “Ozai’s a-alive?”

“Yeah.” Toph’s lips went tight as she crossed her arms over her chest.

“How? How is that possible Toph.”

“Look I couldn’t really see what was going on, but based on what I heard Aang was doing some super weird light bending and then all of a sudden the sky went red and we knew we had lost. You’re going to have to ask Sugarqueen when she’s up to talking.” She rested her chin on her bent knees before wrapping her arms around to hug them closer to her chest.

“Okay. Okay. Well if that’s true we can’t stay here. We can’t stay anywhere. They’ll want our heads. We need to keep moving and do something about our appearances immediately.” 

“Right. Glad to have some brains back in this operation. We’ll get to that tomorrow. For now I think we all need to sleep.”

Toph stood up and headed over to the small earth structure clearly built for all of them to stay in. His eyes drifted back to Katara and he watched the slow rise and fall of her chest. Her head turned to the side and she bore her eyes into his as a soft smile graced her lips. 

“I’m really glad you’re alive. I thought you were dead Zuko. I thought Azula killed you.” Her forehead crinkled and the corners of her lips downturned.

“Well, I’m alive. All thanks to you. Thank you Katara, really, I owe you my life.” He matched her serious demeanor.

“Shut up. You owe me nothing, we saved each other.”

“Right. I think we should get to bed. I know how draining healing can be on you. Come on.”

Zuko stood up and held his hand out for her to grasp. He pulled her up and they headed over to their temporary home to get some sleep before the long day ahead of them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Meta Bits:
> 
> WHEW OKAY I KNOW.
> 
> First I just want to reiterate how much I LOVE SUKI. Like that women does NOT fuck around and she truly is a warrior in this with a logical head on her shoulders while still being a caring person. She knows what's gotta get done and it hurt me writing her like that but I think Sokka is a much more emotional dude when it comes to his family and would want to take action immediately and she's kind of the anchor. 
> 
> Yes a lot of backstory the RESISTANCE I know! We'll get more into that whole aspect later, but I love the idea of the trio (Sokka, Suki, and Zuko) getting together with their strength, skill, and brains to unite forces under them. Like the power they would exude UGH. Pohuai Stronghold for those who don't remember is a huge FN military base that produces weapons so strategically would be smart to overtake.
> 
> Also Katara's capture, we will circle back to that don't worry friends. The White Castle is kinda a nod to the prisons for the Red Lotus in LOK, but just as one immense unit. She's also not okay with bloodbending, she's turned to it in times of immense stress and need just FYI. 
> 
> Kai is my baby, I love him very much and I hope you guys will too. 
> 
> Zuko's also back, I did some research and he basically was experiencing a coma and coming out of it. 
> 
> Tensions are high all around, so I'll try to update soon! Thanks for reading (:


	3. Lost

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi friends! 
> 
> I added a couple more tags and again just want to remind you to be wary of them as some do apply to this chapter. Please take care with your reading <3
> 
> Also I've decided that for now updates will be every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. If anything changes I'll let you know, but my editing is going pretty smooth so at least for this month it will be consistent.

Since they started camping in the woods Katara had gotten used to waking up with her tiny friend cuddling against her. Now with all three of them being conscious it seemed none of them wanted to be away from each other as she woke up in a tangle of limbs. Almost dying seemed to have that effect on people. She groaned while shifting under their weight and slowly moved to gently wake both of her companions to begin their day. 

After several protests they eventually all sat around a small fire eating the remainder of provisions she had gathered a couple of days ago. Zuko was the first to clear his throat dictating a plan for the day while he stoked the flame.

“Okay first things first, we need to change up our appearances. Unfortunately due to my scar I’m a bit too recognizable to go into the closest village to grab clothes. I have a bit of gold left, you guys can use that to buy some new Earth Kingdom garb and we’ll just have to steal some supplies.”

Katara felt weary about the plan but there wasn’t really much of a choice anymore. She began to tug on the ends of the wisps of hair framing her face.

“Don’t you think it’ll be just as dangerous for Toph and I to go into any village. We’re probably wanted by every Fire Nation division by now.” She looked up to see Zuko staring into the fire. 

“They won’t be able to get word out that quickly. But, I was actually thinking you would both change your look up a bit before you went into town.”

“And how would we do that?”

His face scrunched up as he turned to face her with pity in his eyes. “Well for starters, you both need to change your hair.”

She scowled at him and felt an uneasy clench in her stomach at the idea of cutting one of the connections to her heritage. Her first instinct was to outright refuse to ever disrespect her culture in such a manner, but she held her tongue because she realized this was what they _had_ to do.

“Well alright sweetness, let's get this thing started. Surprise me, I’m sure I’ll never see it coming!” Toph quipped, easing the tension in the air. 

Zuko snorted as he reached to his waist belt to pull out a dagger he had stashed, handing it over to her. Katara released Toph’s hair from her traditional bun and began to roughly cut the strands creating a choppy bob with wispy bangs to frame her face. She looked younger and the bangs conveniently hid her eyes, this made it easy for her to pass as a random Earth Kingdom refugee. Katara slowly unraveled her own hair removing her hair loopies then stashing her beads in her sarashi. Her hands quickly worked at chopping her hair into a length right below her shoulders and she had Zuko help her even out the pieces in the back. It was still enough to pull back and fashion into a tight bun at the nape of her neck making her look much older than her seventeen years. 

Once satisfied they removed all traces of their camp and walked along the riverbank until they saw a village in the distance. The two girls were preparing to go into town, but Zuko grabbed a hold of Katara’s arm pulling her back to face him while pressing a small bag of gold into her palm.

“What?”

His eyes briefly glanced down at her neck. 

“Your necklace Katara, it’s too recognizable.” Her eyes widened in realization.

“But-” She was cut off by Toph’s firm voice. 

“He’s right, anyone who knows you from your travels knows about that necklace sweetness.”

She glanced between her two friends and sighed in defeat gently undoing the clasp, feeling exposed without her mother’s warmth around her neck. Her eyes darted to Zuko and without thinking she grabbed his left wrist and began to tie her necklace around it. 

“What are you doing?” He whispered. 

“Just keep it safe for me alright.” She smiled gently. “You didn’t lose it when we were enemies, so I trust you to keep it safe for me now.”

He gazed into her eyes with his brow furrowed and his lips tight, but he nodded in agreement. 

Turning away she grabbed Toph’s hand and led her towards the town. It was a tiny Earth Kingdom village with small houses littering the area in close proximity. They trudged on the dirt paths and tried to avoid the gaze of any curious villagers, but it proved unnecessary as most people seemed to be in a rush to their own destinations. The local market came into view and they made their way through the few stalls looking for a cheap bargain. Katara managed to haggle with an older woman with kind eyes and they scored a few changes of clothes for each of them. With outfits piled high in her arms they continued along to find shoes for Toph to blend in. Upon approaching a vendor she couldn’t help but overhear some of the townspeople gossiping about the comet in hushed whispers. 

“Didn’t you hear, the Fire Lord has transferred power over to his daughter Azula and he now claims reign over the entire empire.”

“Well I heard the Avatar was going to stop him during the comet! How else would we all still be alive?”

“I don’t know Lin… I heard some people from the town say they saw the Avatar fall from the sky.”

“Horseshit Ming! There’s no way, besides we all know the resistance is going to take them down. We can’t lose faith yet.”

Katara felt a rush of emotions flutter through her while she took in the news the rest of the world seemed to be speculating on. Gripping her hands in fists she turned back to the vendor and picked out a simple pair of leather shoes that could easily have the soles removed. Hanging from a display shelf for accessories was a delicate red thread that her eyes were drawn to. Her fingers delicately picked it up eyeing the color as she handed several coins to the merchant before tucking it into her wraps. Toph followed behind as she dragged them away from the village and back to the forest.

________

Zuko felt restless waiting around for his friends simply holding onto hope that they were safe in their meager disguises. A tread of dirt began to erode as he paced back and forth until finally he was able to release the breath he had been holding when he spotted them at the edge of the forest. 

Toph moved her arms upwards with her legs in a firm stance to craft a small rock table for Katara to set all their new clothing on. She had a pensive look on her face that caused him to frown as a flurry of worries crossed his mind with the possibility of capture being at the forefront. Before he could voice his concern she began to speak to the earthbender.

“Toph did you hear what they were saying in the market back there?”

“Sure did.” Toph sat back on a rock chair she had crafted, propping her feet atop the table. “I mean it was neither good nor bad.”

“What exactly did you guys hear?” Zuko felt his heart rate begin to increase. 

“Well, Azula is officially the Fire Lord and they aren’t really sure who won the battle.” Katara moved over to the table nudging the clothes away from Toph’s dirty feet. 

“Well I agree with Toph, we knew this was coming and the less people know the easier it will be for us to keep hiding for now.”

She hummed in agreement and began to pick out clothing for the earthbender. Her eyes twinkled when she shared her idea to remove the bottoms of the shoes she got Toph as to not disrupt her seismic sense. As he nodded in approval he rummaged through the items to find the dark clothing he asked them to buy for later that night. He was planning on sneaking back into the village once it was dark to scavenge the rest of the supplies they couldn’t afford. 

Rubbing the material between his fingertips brought him back to memories of stealth missions with Suki when the resistance had just begun. His relationship with the Kyoshi warrior had always been complicated. After helping save her from the Boiling Rock she quickly forgave him for his past mistakes when they met on Kyoshi Island. They maintained a cordial relationship until she joined the resistance at which point their friendship grew and he constantly found himself confiding to her in ways he couldn’t with others. They were elected to begin intelligence missions together since they had the best training in stealth, weapon, and combat skills. Relying on each other to stay alive grew their trust and he considered her his best friend. Unfortunately this seemed to shatter during one of their last missions, which they narrowly escaped from, emotions were running high and they shared an intimate moment together. Immediately following this they realized it was a mistake and distanced from each other with a vow to keep what happened between them for the sake of their relationship with Sokka and the resistance. The guilt was overwhelming at first, but deep down there were no true romantic feelings for Suki and she felt similarly. Eventually he had hoped to reconcile since he considered her one of the most important friends and comrades in his life, but now he was unsure if that would ever be possible. 

Bringing himself out of his thoughts he walked away from the girls to remove his dirt and blood stained tunic, replacing it with the sleek black disguise. The sky was glowing with deep orange and purple hues and he wanted to set out as soon as possible so they could move on to the next town. Stretching his limbs out he felt the presence of a familiar waterbender approach him.

“Are you sure you don’t want me to go with you? You’re still not completely healed, and I’m just worried. I don’t want to lose anyone else.”

Glancing over he saw her eyes beginning to brim with tears. He reached his hand out to wipe a tear from her cheek and hardened his gaze as it pierced into her eyes. 

“I’m not going anywhere. I’ll be extra careful and I won’t push myself too much. I just need to do something to feel productive. I feel so restless and useless just sitting here all day. Just stay here to watch over Toph, okay?”

She leaned gently into his hand that remained on her cheek.

“Okay, just don’t do anything stupid. And I’m doing another healing session the minute you get back!” A small smile graced his lips as he slightly nodded his head. She pulled away and walked back to the small camp Toph had begun to set up. 

There was this vulnerability he appreciated in his dynamic with Katara which developed after their trip to hunt down Yon Rah. In the months following they exchanged stories of their childhoods and bonded over their mutual necessity of growing up while still being children due to the loss of their mothers. Both dealt with grief and shame from the actions within their lives. Katara confided to him about her debilitating mental health and increasing dark thoughts after meeting Hama, it made her question her character in the world almost mirroring his own mind. He felt protective over her, in a way that he didn’t really allow himself to understand as they had to focus on preparing for the comet.

As he got closer to the town’s edge the sky blackened and he pulled a black mask over the lower half of his face. He spotted a man walking into an alleyway with a sword hilt at his waist belt. A weapon was essential for protection as they wouldn’t want to give away their bending abilities in the weeks to follow. News of a waterbender, earthbender, and firebender traveling together would spread faster to his sister than the resistance.

Hiding in the shadows along the buildings he followed the man ducking into the alleyway before pulling his dagger from his waist belt. Slowly he approached from behind swiftly reaching out to twist one of his wrists back while holding the blade against his throat.

“All I want is the sword and I’ll let you live.” He rasped into his ear.

The man swallowed deeply while slightly shaking. He clearly had the weapon more for show and a small twinge of guilt crept into the back of Zuko’s mind, but only for a moment knowing he couldn’t falter from his mission. 

“I don’t want any trouble! Please! You can have it!”

Zuko released his wrist and swiftly took the sword from the man’s waist. He removed the dagger from his throat and slowly walked backwards until he was a far enough distance to turn on his heels and run back into the shadows. The sword was a decently crafted Katana, not as ideal as Dao swords, but he would take what he could find. It fit nicely along his hip and he began to scale the side of a building, pulling himself up onto the rafters to get a better understanding of the layout of the village. From up here he quickly identified bins that kept dried goods and produce near the market, along with a shop he could easily break into for gear. He perched himself along the edge of the roof, waiting for more of the village to head inside. 

Time alone was something Zuko had learned to cherish and despise. Right now was more of the latter as his thoughts began to swirl with images of his friends defeated and tyrannical father burning more of the world. 

_You failed again. You’re worthless._

These thoughts began when he had first been banished, but started to progressively get worse after he failed to find Katara during their rescue mission. He was aware what a slippery slope it was to dance with such dark thoughts, but there was no time to dwell and he simply pushed them away. 

His jaw clenched as his mind drifted to the resistance, wondering if they had successfully overtaken Pohuai. Before the comet a lot had been resting on Zuko’s shoulders, the slight relief he felt from having his responsibilities pushed back was eating away at him ever since he woke up. Everything in his life felt strained before, but now it was simple. Wake up. Protect Katara and Toph. Stay Alive. Find our friends. 

He shouldn’t be feeling relieved over their failure, but a selfish part of him did. 

The village settled as the moon began to rise and Zuko slipped down close to the shop. Using his knife to wedge between the frame and door he managed to loosen it up enough to prop open. In the lowlight he held out a small flame in his palm quickly scanning the room. The first thing he grabbed were a few knapsacks and some sleeping gear. Rummaging around he swiped some cooking and cleaning supplies. The smell of lily reminded him of Katara as he grabbed a bar of scented soap and threw it into the pack. 

Once he collected all the supplies he thought they would need for a while he made his way over to the produce filled carts, groaning from the massive pile on his back. Peeking over his shoulders to make sure the area was empty he threw some root vegetables and fruit into a bag until it was nearly overflowing. Throwing it over his shoulder he knelt to grab a sack of rice before beginning to make his way out of the town praying to Agni no one spotted him. 

On his walk back through the forest he felt content. His self-deprecating thoughts drifted away as he walked with the purpose of being needed again. He didn’t have his mask, but the allure of his alter-ego, the Blue Spirit, always brought temporary clarity to his cluttered mind. 

________

After Zuko left, Katara couldn’t stop herself from pacing around the campsite as she began to feel uneasy about his trip into the village. Only after Toph yelled at her for being “too loud” did she finally sit on the edge of the riverbank waiting for him to get back. When she spotted a figure approaching in the moonlight she ran over not even thinking twice about who it could be. Dark hair and golden eyes came into view to her relief and she hurried to grab one of the sacks from his shoulders. They placed everything near the shelter, but before he could sit down she snatched his hand and dragged him over to the river for the healing session he had promised. 

Lightly pushing his shoulders she gestured for him to sit near the bank. He complied then began removing his shirt, groaning when trying to lift it over his head. She stopped him and finished undressing him with gentle hands. A faint blue glow began as she summoned water to surround her hands. She placed them against his chest and he released a sharp hiss through his clenched teeth.

“You need to take it easy, your scar is irritated again.” She tsked to which he hummed in response. When she glanced up, she noticed he had a faraway glint in his eyes not really paying attention to her. 

“What’s wrong?”

Their eyes met as they matched their expressions with furrowed brows. 

“Nothing. There’s just a lot on my mind.” He was lying, but she didn’t want to press too far. She turned her focus back onto her healing. 

“I’m always here if you need to talk. You don’t have to deal with everything alone anymore.” Her voice was soft, only wanting him to understand that she wanted to help him lift the burden on his shoulders. Especially since after Yon Rah Zuko had always been there for her through her own mental struggles. It was proving difficult to get him to open up about himself without vague answers. 

She finished up his healing session then they made their way back to camp to unpack all of the materials Zuko had stolen. As they began to spread everything out she felt her heart warm with gratitude towards the firebender, he went above and beyond to make sure they had everything they needed to be more than comfortable on the road. She was trying to sort things into piles for each sack as she saw a familiar looking bar of soap. It was off beige and had the petals of one of her favorite flowers adorning the sides. She reached over to grab it, lifting it close to her nose the floral scent brought a smile to her face. When she glanced over to Zuko he was carefully observing her with his lips slightly upturned. 

“I found that in the shop and I remembered you liked that scent.” It stunned her that he recalled such a minute detail.

Her lips parted and she felt herself smile. “It’s my favorite. Thank you, that was really thoughtful of you.”

“Uh, it’s nothing.” He was rubbing his neck and avoiding eye contact as he shifted to continue sorting through the food. 

Once everything was up to her standard with both of them yawning nonstop, they slipped quietly beside Toph to get some rest. It was easier to sleep with her friends surrounding her, but Katara still felt fear knowing that nightmares frequented her sleep more than dreams. She questioned if more time passing would bring more fears to haunt her mind. Would she ever have a day of peace again? Or was she cursed to constantly be haunted with failures of her past?

As she tossed and turned struggling to rest, she felt Zuko’s hand reach over Toph to grab her own. He gripped her hand and used his thumb to gently draw circles in her palm. Somehow he was able to give her comfort in the small gesture letting her finally drift away. 

________

After a few adjustments Toph was satisfied wiggling her toes around in her makeshift shoes. Katara had expertly sewn two strips of fabric to hold the bottom in place without the soles, granting her maximum dirt to skin contact. A knapsack rested over her shoulder as she sat on an earth stump munching on some jook Katara whipped up that morning. The warm porridge was nice in the morning drift.

Katara and Zuko were arguing trying to decide on a backstory for their upcoming trek towards the Earth Kingdom.

“I don’t know Zuko, I feel like if we just say we’re a bunch of refugees there will be too many questions that we’re bound to mess up.”

“What else are we supposed to say? This is a terrible idea I don’t even know how I can possibly hide this stupid scar!” 

They were both standing now and she could feel their heart rates starting to skyrocket. She sighed before setting her bowl down and standing up to command the attention of both idiots who couldn’t stop bickering. 

“You’re both wasting time, shut up!” Well that worked, Katara crossed her arms and was probably still glaring at Zuko. “Here’s the plan. We’re fire colony refugees traveling to Ba Sing Se after our village got burned during the comet. You both come from mixed families and I can be your kid or niece on Zuko’s side since according to the both of you we look more similar. You’re married so people ask less questions and your scar is from defending your wife from some rogue soldiers. Zuko, you’re Lee. Katara you’re Ming. And I’m Sheng. Now let’s go.”

Neither of them wasted time arguing with her as she bent all traces of their campsite back into flat land. Toph began to walk away, before realizing she had no idea where they were. She spun around on her heels halting the other two in their tracks.

“Uh guys where the hell are we?”

They both shifted on their feet before Katara spoke up.

“Well I was hoping you knew, since you bended us here after the comet.” 

Toph tilted her head to the side, “Look I wasn’t really paying attention, all I know is I went north until I hit a water source close enough for you to sense.”

Zuko groaned on her right side and she heard a resounding slap to his forehead.

“Great, we're lost! What else could go wrong?”

“Okay, okay let’s not panic. What would Sokka do…” Katara paced back and forth as she spoke. “I know! We should go back to the airship battleground, and then make our way back to the fortress. At least we know our way from there.” 

“Okay Sugarqueen but what if they didn’t overtake Pohuai?”

“Well we better hope they did! If not we just have to somehow make it back to the head base.”

Toph hummed in agreement. “Fine. Now how do we find the battleground?”

Katara let out a frustrated breath and stopped her pacing, but Zuko seemed to perk up at this.

“Wait. Okay the airships were near the ocean right?”

“Yeah Sparky… where are you going with this?”

“Well during my geography lessons in the palace we learned that all rivers lead to oceans so it’s a good way to navigate in unfamiliar territories. If we follow along the bank eventually we’ll meet up with the shore and we can follow the ocean south until we find the battlefield.”

She walked over and punched him in the arm.

“Once again thank you for not dying! Let’s move.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Meta Bits:
> 
> This is a bit more of a slow chapter setting things up for how the next few will take place. I also wanted them to get a little info on what's happening with the war and what not. We love a fake family trope.
> 
> The Suki/Zuko dynamic... okay so like don't hate me. Everything has a reason in this fic and this is going to be a big player in Suki's character arc so it had to happen. I head cannon them being super close because I liked the dynamic they had in the comics. Plus please they are a bunch of teenagers in high emotion situations so things are going to get messy. Was it right what they did...? no...but morally grey is tagged for a reason! Also 'intimate' is up to your interpretation. ;)
> 
> I hope Zuko/Katara dynamic is more clear. They are verrrryyy close rn. Like they've bonded and really have a 'look out for each other' type of relationship. Is it more? Hmmm... well that's up to you but right now they are blind to it and view each other as friends (like too much is going on for that). FYI this is endgame Zutara so don't worry.
> 
> Toph is the only one thinking like a boss as usual.
> 
> See ya'll Wednesday (:


	4. Trespasser

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm really excited for this chapter. This is where we introduce another one of the main characters of the story. 
> 
> As usual let me know your thoughts and I appreciate all the kind feedback! (:

After two days of trekking along the riverbank Toph was really starting to miss Appa. Bending wasn’t an option since it could draw too much attention and they needed to save their energy in case any firebenders were still straggling behind in the aftermath. Besides the aching in her limbs, there was also a dreary feeling in the group as they made their way further into the Wulong Forest. 

The smell of sweet smoke filled her nostrils from the remaining trees still burning in the area. There was a crackling noise as their feet crunched over the dead trees and the taste of death was heavy in her mouth. The reality of their failures was surrounding them and Toph was suffocating. 

The warmth began to wean from her skin as the sun left the sky and Zuko decided they should settle on the edge of the forest before traveling across the exposed expanse of land up ahead. She wasn’t much help around camp, so she tried to stay out of their way as Zuko set up their sleeping mats and Katara cooked a veggie stew for dinner. She laid back on her bed listening to Katara hum a Water Tribe tune as she stirred the pot.

Since leaving home Toph had found a new family amongst her friends and secretly had a soft spot for Katara and Zuko. Zuko understood the pressures that came with being children of status figures and navigated her demeanor better than the rest of them. They both hid their emotions well and it was nice having someone look out for her without looking down on her disability. Sugarqueen was a pain in her ass, but when she got captured it had been really rough on Toph. Somewhere in all their meaningless fights she had become a motherly comfort that she relied on. These two were her family now and she was grateful to be stuck with them during this time of uncertainty. They wouldn’t let her drown.

“Toph do you want your rice in the soup or on the side?”

“In it Sugarqueen!”

Toph stood and made her way over to the warmth exuding from the campfire. They all sat and ate in a peaceful silence lost in their own thoughts. Suddenly Toph felt footsteps approaching from the clearing. And not just any footsteps, she had felt these before. The minute the intruder was at the edge of their camp Toph stood, shattering her bowl, and bended the ground around the legs of the trespasser. 

“Someone’s here to visit.”

Both of her companions quickly stood and she felt them take a fighting stance with their hearts beginning to race. Katara was breathing hard and Zuko seemed to be holding in his breath. After a moment he released it and began to speak to their visitor.

“What are you doing here?” Toph shuddered at the hard edge in his voice. 

“Is she with you? Give me one reason not to slit your throat right now Ty Lee.”

_Crap. What the hell is stretchy doing here._

“I’m alone I swear! Please don’t hurt me. I was just looking for anyone else alive. I’ve been wandering around for days all alone. Please you have to believe me.”

“Yeah well I don’t.” The iciness in Katara’s voice rivaled Zuko’s. 

“I know you have every reason to hate me but I swear I’m not lying to you! After you left the Boiling Rock I saved Mai, and Azula’s had me imprisoned for the past couple of months. I escaped during the comet. You have to believe me, I’m on the run now. Just like you!” There was desperation coating her voice.

Her heartbeat remained steady, fast but steady, and that’s all Toph needed.

“She’s telling the truth.”

“Does it matter Toph! She tried to capture us multiple times! She helped Azula. She’s probably part of the reason I was imprisoned!”

Toph flinched and turned away to think over all her conflicting feelings. Zuko moved close to Katara whispering things to calm her down. She didn’t like Ty Lee anymore than the waterbender, but if she was telling the truth they couldn’t just leave her out here to die. Too many people were dying. 

_And there’s the other thing that Twinkletoes told you. He wouldn’t like it if you didn’t save her._

She sauntered closer to the acrobat and spoke in a low voice. 

“Ty Lee, I don’t like you, but you answer this one question and maybe I’ll help you change the mind of my two friends over there.” She nodded her head in the direction of Zuko and Katara.

“Um… Okay.” She could feel her nerves shaking off stretch’s body now. 

“Aang told me something, about the last time he fought you during the Day of the Black Sun. Is it true?”

Her heart rate was spiking now. Good, she had her right where she wanted her. 

“I-I don’t know what you’re t-talking about.”

The shake in her voice gave away the lie before her stuttering heart did. 

“Lie. Try again.”

A beat passed.

“Y-yes. He was right. About everything.”

“There we go stretch.”

Toph bent away the restraints around her feet then quickly created an armchair and shackled her wrists. Ty Lee let out a soft yelp as Toph turned away from her to walk over to her two friends. 

“And next time… don’t lie to me.”

_______

“It’s okay-“

“- never taking you away again.”

“- protect you -“

“- safe here.”

Zuko was whispering reassurances but she only caught small phrases as her blood pounded in her ears. She hadn’t dropped her fighting stance and was glancing around frantically waiting for the attack she’s sure was coming. Azula must really be slipping if she thought sending one of her sidekicks in to trick them was going to work. 

_I’ll make you bow at my feet again. I can’t wait to bend your blood to my will. She has no idea what I’m capable of._

Katara was letting the darkness in willingly. She could already feel the liquid in Ty Lee’s body flowing and her hands twitched with the itch to take control of her. A hand grabbed her chin, turning her head to force her eyes to meet his golden gaze. His brows were drawn in, lips taut, and eyes searching. 

“Katara. Listen. To. Me. You need to come back. Calm down. Everything is under control. Toph would’ve sensed anyone else. We’re okay right now. Please. Get out of your head. Say something.”

She blinked several times, released her hold on the blood, and relaxed her stance. The last time she lost control like that she accidentally killed someone. Zuko was the only person who knew that and it would have nearly happened again if he didn’t stop her. His eyes were trained over her shoulder. 

“Hey can I talk to you both about our little problem.” 

Katara spun around to see Toph with a rare serious expression on her face, arms crossed, and foot tapping on the ground. They all kept their voices low, leaning close together so Ty Lee couldn’t overhear. She replied with a firm declaration.

“We need to get rid of her.”

“Look Sugarqueen I don’t know what’s gotten into you.” Toph pointed a finger at her chest. “But no we _aren’t_ doing that.”

“Me? What’s wrong with you?! How can you think there’s any alternative.” She was shouting, but she couldn’t help it as she leaned closer to the earthbender. 

“Katara. We need to hear Toph out.” Zuko’s voice was firm but gentle. She held her tongue, leaning back to hear Toph’s explanation.

“Anyways. Listen this is gonna sound crazy… but Ty Lee is an Airbender.”

This enraged Katara.

“Yeah, you’re right! You sound crazy!” She started laughing from the sheer absurdity of it all.

“Toph what do you mean Ty Lee is an… Airbender.” Zuko shook his head. “That can’t be true. I grew up with her, she’s a non-bender.”

Anger caught up to her as Katara began to shake. _Why would Toph just blatantly lie to them about the enemy?_

“Can both of you just listen for a minute! During the Day of the Black Sun. You both weren’t there, but while Sokka was fighting off Mai, Aang and I had to take on Ty Lee and Azula. Ty Lee was fighting both of us then Azula ran off. I don’t really know how it happened but all of a sudden we’re both knocked on our asses from a gust of wind. I thought it was Aang but then he jumps up saying all this crap to Ty Lee about how she’s an ‘Airbender’ and a bunch of crazy shit. She got super jumpy and was denying it before she ran off. We never told you guys, because well we knew how it would sound.”

Now she was gonna faint. 

“What are you saying Toph.”

“What I’m _saying_ Sparky, is that whether we like it or not Aang thinks he found another Airbender and I’m not gonna be the one to kill the one connection he might have to his extinct nation!”

“So what do you suggest we do with her Toph.” Katara said through gritted teeth. 

“Honestly… I have no fucking idea. I guess we interrogate her? Find out if her story holds up. Get as much information as we possibly can. And then we figure out whether we leave her alone or take her with us.”

“Fine.”

Zuko sighed and ran his fingers through his hair. She felt as tired as he looked, already realizing they had a long night ahead of them. 

_______

Zuko stood with his arms crossed and his signature scowl gracing his face. He kept his eyes firmly on Ty Lee, as Toph sat on a makeshift stump of earth with Katara moving behind her placing a protective hand on her shoulder. The acrobat made him uneasy, but he was leaning towards believing Toph as he surveyed her appearance. She had bruising around her neck and wrists, a yellowing black eye, and cuts healing along her lip and forearms. The churning in his gut told him that she was tortured, but for the sake of Katara’s sanity he wouldn’t let his guard down yet. Deep down he wondered if the absence of Mai meant she hadn’t been so lucky. 

It was almost a full year since he had left home, and although his feelings for the young noblewoman weaned away as time passed, he still cared for her as a childhood friend. A small part of him even felt distressed over seeing Ty Lee in her current state. 

“So stretch, tell me exactly why you decided to escape on the one day that your captors were at their fullest power in over a hundred years? What, did you have a death wish?”

Damn, he needed to thank that intuitive little earthbender later. Sometimes during all her silly banter Zuko forgot how observant she could be. 

“It… uh, just seemed like the last day to do it?”

“Try again. You’re leaving something out. Look the only way this works is if you tell us the full truth, so start talking.”

Ty Lee looked uneasy shifting her shoulders up and down while shaking her legs absentmindedly. Zuko began to feel pity for his former friend.

“Ty, listen to her. Just talk to us. We aren’t Azula.”

He saw her shoulders relax after his reassuring words. The fear Azula had trained within her was all too familiar. 

“Okay. I left that day because I had to. The Dai Li had started interrogating me a week before the comet under Azula’s orders an—and it’s like they could see inside my mind. They kept asking so many questions trying to find out if I always planned on betraying Azula and well they found out about my _abilities_ and I knew that I was as good as dead. I waited until I knew they were changing guards the morning of the comet. There were less officers on patrol because they were all called out for the attack. So while I was in the yard I gave them the slip and took off towards the closest section of land riding it out on a makeshift raft I made during my imprisonment.”

“The waiting game. Smart girl.” Zuko whispered under his breath. They locked eyes and he tilted his chin upwards.

“And Mai? Is she dead?”

Her body went rigid and she looked off to the side avoiding his gaze. The normally soft voice came out harsh when she answered his question.

“No. She’s not dead. But I wish she was.”

That made everyone stare at Ty Lee with a silence so deafening you could hear a pin drop. 

Toph let out a low whistle. “Wanna explain that?”

Ty let out a loaded sigh. 

“After Zuko and your friends left the prison Azula tried to strike Mai with lightning. I couldn’t just let her do that! So I-I chi-blocked her.”

He heard Katara let out a small gasp. 

“Then we were immediately both put in a cell. I’m not sure how long she kept us in there, but after some time passed Mai was taken out of the cell to have a meeting with her father and Azula. That was the last time I saw her.”

“So where did Gloomy go?” Toph continued the line of questioning.

“Well, word gets around with the guards and it was easy for me to get the younger ones talking.” Ty Lee scoffed as her nose scrunched up in disgust. “Apparently she spun a story, something about trying to protect her future royal line in case Zuko ever realized his mistakes in defecting from the Fire Nation. They used their noble status to get pardoned and she’s back working under Azula. Anything to keep up appearances right?”

All remorse Zuko felt over leaving Mai left his conscious immediately as his face fell. He had foolishly believed that she had finally broken away from the ideologies of their homeland in saving him. That assumption was wrong, it had always been a political move, just like everything else in their relationship. He couldn’t blame her, she was doing what she had to do in order to survive, but it didn’t hurt any less. His jaw clenched as he grit his teeth.

“She never came back for me.” Ty Lee mumbled with tears gleaming in her eyes. 

He rubbed his hands over his face searching for the right thing to say. Instead he heard the timid voice of Katara break through the silence.

“Did they torture you too?”

His head snapped up when he heard the pain in her voice. She was kneeling in front of her, head tilted up, loosely grasping one of her hands. Ty just nodded her head as a sob escaped her lips. He walked over to the earthbender and leaned down to whisper in her ear.

“Toph, take off the restraints. Even if she tries anything, we can take her, but I can’t watch this anymore.”

With a flick of her wrist the cuffs dropped and he saw Toph’s head drop as a tear fell down her cheek. 

_Spirits we’re all just kids._

Zuko sank to the floor next to Toph and stared blankly at Katara as she held Ty Lee in her arms while they both sobbed into each other’s shoulders. He already knew the stories that Katara had confided in him about the burnings and beatings she endured during captivity. He had helped Suki heal her broken arm and burns after her escape. Another innocent person had just been ruined by his family and it weighed heavily on his chest. 

_All your fault._

_This is what your blood does._

_You are just as bad as them._

He abruptly stood up and took off into the clearing. Fireballs shot out of his arms and his breath was hot with smoke. All he could do right now was continuously punch and kick through his katas to release his anger. It didn’t take long for him to collapse under his still recovering body. After exhausting himself he sauntered back to the camp, panting. Ty Lee was laying on a mat already drifting to sleep and Toph had made an earth structure to rest in. Katara sat by the fire, her swollen eyes followed him as he approached. 

“Wanna talk about it?”

“Not really.”

“Come sit with me Zuko.” She patted the dirt next to her and he obliged. 

“Are you okay?” He looked over her worn down appearance. 

“I’m not the one who just left camp to blast fireballs around like he was an angry sixteen year old again.” She was giving him _that_ look. 

“I’m dealing with it. Stop worrying about me.”

She shook her head. 

“I’ll always worry about my friends.”

His jaw clenched as he gazed into the flickering flames that taunted him.

“We can’t leave her out here alone.” It was a statement but underneath he knew she understood the question he was asking her. _Is that okay with you?_

She curled her knees close to her chest and rested her chin atop.

“No, no we can’t. So what’s the plan?”

“We tell her as little as possible, at least until we trust her more. We can just say we’re headed for Makapu village which is closer to the fortress. We keep the resistance under wraps for now just in case she tries to run away. Our only chance of preventing the rest of the world from looking like this forest is to find the resistance and regroup. And hopefully we find the others.”

Her gaze was on him and she hummed her approval. 

A few moments passed before she sighed, “I’m worried about Toph.”

“Why’s that?” He tilted his head towards her.

“She was crying tonight.” Her lips pursed. “She wouldn’t even talk to me after I set up Ty Lee’s bed. Just took off into her tent. She acted like this when she first joined our group. Distancing herself from everyone. And… it's just we’ve all been sleeping together every night since the comet. I feel like I can’t sleep without her near, I’m just so- so scared.” Katara’s voice was shaky as she hugged her knees tighter to her chest.

“I’m scared too. I think we all are. Toph is complicated, sometimes she just needs to be alone because she likes to hold onto her tough demeanor.”

“Sounds like someone else I know.”

He scoffed.

“Whatever. If it helps we can try talking to her together tomorrow night.”

“Okay.”

“You need your rest. I’ll still be next to you tonight. And we can move our mats near her tent so I’ll hear anything that could happen.”

“Mmm okay.”

He stood up with an arm outstretched to help hoist her to her feet. They set up their beds and she curled up to his side like every other night. It wasn’t romantic, it felt needed and comforting. It was a reminder that each other’s hearts were still beating and a reason to keep fighting. She eventually drifted off but he struggled to close his eyes without the earthbender tucked under his other arm. 

_______

Ty Lee woke to the sweet smell of boiling rice. Her eyes fluttered open meeting the unusual sight of the Avatar’s entourage starting their morning. Slowly sitting up stretching her arms overhead she thought over the strange night she had.

When she had approached the campsite she was expecting to find other refugees heading towards the Earth Kingdom. Her heart nearly stopped upon seeing her former enemies. Ty Lee was used to keeping secrets, but the perceptive earthbender had easily seen through any attempts of deception. She felt exposed being so vulnerable in front of strangers, but any of her hesitancy faded when Katara enveloped her in an embrace during her weakest moment. Azula and Mai had never been one for displays of affection or tenderness. It was strange to have another outwardly empathetic person around, and even stranger that the waterbender didn’t hold back her emotional displays like she often had to do in the Fire Nation.

She was nervous about their thoughts on her newly revealed bending abilities. During the Day of the Black Sun, Azula took off without her knowledge and she got cornered by the Avatar and earthbender. They advanced on her quickly and in the underground tunnels of the palace she didn’t have as much range of motion to easily escape. In a fit of panic she threw a gust of air to ward them off. The Avatar immediately pushed back up to his feet and looked stunned with admiration on his face. He began insisting she was an airbender, but when he approached her she stumbled back before turning on her heels to flee. 

After their encounter she experienced true terror. She had kept her poorly trained bending a secret for the entirety of her life and now two children threatened to destroy her carefully crafted world. No one could ever know or she would be made an example of in the capital, the warnings were always clear. To her surprise it was not the Avatar who exposed her secrets, instead her downfall came in the form of fake friendships. The abandonment by Azula was expected despite their complex relationship, but it was Mai’s who hurt more. Back in her cell it kept her up many nights, as she wondered if she would ever rescue her. 

They never even bothered to visit. 

One skill she had perfected while being Azula’s sidekick, was the art of people pleasing. Ty Lee pushed herself out of bed with a smile plastered on her face and approached Katara.

“Need any help?”

“Morning Ty Lee!” The waterbender beamed at her with a striking set of eyes while casually stirring the pot of rice. “I’ve got this, but after breakfast let’s go to the river so I can heal some of those wounds you have. You can also wear my other set of travel clothes.”

She was taken aback. How could someone be so selfless toward someone they barely knew?

“Uh thanks.” Her brow furrowed before slipping back into a mask of gratitude. “That’s really sweet of you.”

She skipped over to Zuko who was packing up the camp.

“Hey! I can help.”

He looked up and gave her a soft smile.

“That’d be great actually, just help me roll up all the mats so I can pack them in our bags.”

She carefully folded the blankets and reached out for one of the mats. 

“So… you don’t have to answer, but where exactly are you guys headed? I was on my way to Ba Sing Se.”

“No it’s fine. We’re trying to get to Makapu Village. We were heading to the ocean to follow it south until we found some familiar landmark.”

“Oh! Well don’t do that, we can just cut through the clearing! I kind of stole a map before I left. If you want to see it.” She said sheepishly.

“You have a map!?”

“Yeah, it’s kind of messed up from the ocean but it works.”

He bolted up and dragged her over to the fire to let everyone know the news. They began to help figure out the navigation with grateful looks on their faces putting her more at ease in their company. 

Over breakfast they discussed their plans and decided to cut across the empty patch south towards the Abbey. Katara had explained it was a safe haven from the Fire Nation that housed nuns that would take in a group of refugees. They explained their cover story and assigned her the name of “Nashi” with a vague backstory being someone they met on their way to Ba Sing Se. 

Once everything was decided she helped Katara clean up and followed her to the river to begin their session.

“Just relax, the water can be a bit cold against the wounds. All of your injuries are a couple of days old so they should heal fairly quickly.”

Childlike wonder filled her as the water glowed blue and she watched her skin mend itself back together leaving no trace of the painful memories. 

“You’re like a spirit, granting miracles with a wave of your hand.”

The other girl simply smiled before completing her work. 

Zuko had finished packing up the campsite once they returned and Katara handed a bundle of cloth to her. Ty Lee quickly changed into the dark green kimono style tunic and billowy dark brown pants shifting around to become comfortable. Katara helped her fashion her hair back into a bun that suited the Earth Kingdom.

They all dressed in Earth Kingdom garb with Katara in a dark green sleeveless kimono dress pulled in at the waist thanks to a dark gold sash. She paired this with tan pants that stopped at her knees and had her hair fastened in a similar style at the nape of her neck. Toph had a dark brown tunic with cream lining tucked into dark green billowy pants, secured in place with a cream sash tied around her waist. Even Zuko looked different with a loose tan short sleeve top tucked into dark gray billowed pants that settled below his knee. His waist bore a dark tan waist belt to secure his katana and a white wrapping concealed his left forearm. They were ready to blend in seamlessly. 

Each teen slung a bag over their shoulder before setting off for the long trek ahead of them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Meta Bits:
> 
> SO... did anyone see that coming?! Secrets secrets... tsk tsk!
> 
> Ty Lee as an Airbender is my favorite fan theory EVER. Developing Ty's character has been really intriguing to me because I think she's a lot more complex than a lot of people give her credit for.
> 
> Katara may seem OOC? idk I view her as emotionally driven and it can overtake her self control if she's not thinking straight so that's how I'm writing her at this point (Don't get me wrong I obviously love Katara but she can't be perfect). She doesn't trust Ty at all, but she can empathize once her head clears and the threat seems minimal. lol
> 
> Zuko is... very self depreciating. I think if they lost this is just logically where he would regress to for a while. The Mai thing also didn't help. 
> 
> NO MAI SLANDER PLS. I like her so much that I want her to be a character who does things because she's smart and possibly more cunning than Azula not just because she was Zuko's girlfriend. Again if the war wasn't ending I think Mai's family would've pulled strings and gotten her out of jail. IMO she does love Zuko, but she has to worry about herself rn so she's doing what she has to for survival. 
> 
> Platonic cuddles hehe... anyways see ya'll Friday (;


	5. Choices

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Before we start I just want to clarify one point, during the final battle Aang did NOT use his Avatar state in this AU, but rather resorted to simply attempting to energy bend.
> 
> Also we are in a slightly different time frame being back in Suki/Sokka's perspective, continuing right after they got back to the base.

After getting her shoulder healed in the medic tent, Suki quickly checked up on Aang’s progress. He had regained consciousness and was instructed to remain resting until the White Lotus arrived. She was satisfied with his progress and left the tent to check on her warriors' advancements in securing the fortress. The few Fire Nation guards that remained were taken to the prison wing for interrogation later. The warriors finished placing water barrels along the walkways atop each set of walls that surrounded the fortress. Soldiers from Sokka’s division took place patrolling alongside the Kyoshi Warriors. The outer wall housed earthbenders discreetly positioned with boulders gathered in case of attack. The remaining women warriors kept busy setting up the inside of the base separating men and womans quarters, along with an armory. 

Suki settled into her private quarters discarding her Fire Nation garb for her preferred training clothes. She wrapped cream bindings around her chest and threw on a loose earth green kimono-style tunic that came to her knees with slits up to each hip. It paired well with loose black pants and a dark green sash to take in her waist. She pulled black cloth cuffs onto her wrists that bore the threaded golden insignia honored to Kyoshi Warriors. Finally, she tucked her golden war fans into her waist and pinned half her hair into a high bun with two matching golden chopsticks. Her outfit reflected her roots with enough respect to not exclude her warriors that weren’t a part of the Kyoshi group. 

As she painted her lips with a signature dark red one of her girls sharply rapped on the door. She sighed and set her small lip brush on the metal desk. 

“Come in.”

A woman dressed in a green uniform and heavy face paint walked into the small room. “Head General Sokka requested me to retrieve you upon the arrival of the White Lotus. They will be meeting in the pagoda tower.”

“Thank you Hua, I’ll be there shortly. Make sure the Avatar has been woken and escort him over as well.”

“Right away.”

The Kyoshi Warrior took her leave and Suki released a sigh, despite her anger towards Sokka’s snide remarks earlier, personal issues had to be put aside during business affairs. She rolled her shoulders back and marched over to the tower. Two Water Tribe warriors stood guard outside the doors and quickly opened them upon her arrival. She walked in to find a makeshift war room with maps haphazardly hung up on the walls and a conference table with a detailed map laid atop with small figurines marking different regiments. Sokka sat at the head with two empty seats on either side of him, designated for her and the Avatar. The lieutenants of each division were present along with the high ranking members of the White Lotus. 

A small smile graced her lips as she took in the sight of Uncle Iroh, Jeong Jeong, Master Pakku, King Bumi, and Master Piandao, all seemingly unharmed from the earlier battle. They greeted her with bows that she politely returned before striding over to her seat. Sokka’s eyes carefully tracked her movements as he cleared his throat to command the attention of the room. 

“General Suki, I just finished catching them up on what transpired on our end. Along with the unfortunate fate of our comrades.” 

That was one thing that made their relationship easy, even without saying much they always knew what the other’s underlying message was. 

_Keep Kai’s mission a secret. Don’t get their hopes up. Keep their focus forward._

“Yes. It was very tragic, but we all made the hard decision to split up in order to preserve the Avatar’s life.” She recited the lie like poetry.

Iroh cleared his throat. 

“Of course we understand that was no easy decision, if you could just enlighten us as to your reasonings to split up in this particular manner?”

The air was tense. She knew they were upset about the Prince. 

“Well I can promise you it was a decision based solely on circumstance. We knew there was a risk of being permanently split up. Zuko was injured _badly_ , last we saw he was still unconscious. Katara had to continue healing him in order to keep him alive. They were left on a metal ship so logically Toph stayed behind to defend them in case of attack, she wouldn’t have been much use on Appa. Sokka and I went in to save the Avatar then things began to go south.”

The table erupted in murmurs. Sokka raised a hand to silence the room, a trick he picked up from Zuko.

“I can assure you all this was not how we expected things to play out. As stated the plan was for them to safely land and regroup with us. Unfortunately the ship seemed to malfunction when it crashed in an explosion and we were too far away to do anything. Now please, Grand Master Iroh what is the status of the retaking of Ba Sing Se?”

“Reconquered successfully. It will now be once again under Earth Kingdom rule as the White Lotus assists with reinstating the King.”

Relief washed over her. At least something had gone right during the comet. 

Just as they were going to begin to address the Avatar’s failure the doors banged open and he stumbled in with the help of Hua. His torso was bandaged and he winced as she helped him settle into his seat. Hua quickly turned to bow her head at Suki and she nodded hers to dismiss the warrior. Her eyes turned to scan over the young boy noting how frail he looked. Sokka looked uncomfortable and unsure at how to address his friend after the disastrous events that day. Luckily Iroh took the lead for the line of questioning.

“Avatar Aang, we’ve been briefed on the battle with Ozai. We all seem to be having the same question after being described the scene that was witnessed. What type of bending were you implementing that caused red and white beams to light up the sky? I haven’t heard of any such display in my studies.”

The young monk refused to meet anyone’s eyes, keeping his head down and eyes trained on his lap. His voice was timid when he answered.

“That’s because it’s never been done before. I was energy bending.”

The room was stunned into silence. Iroh’s brow furrowed and a small frown shifted his normally calm demeanor. 

_Energybending._

Suki quickly recovered from her shock and continued the line of questioning. 

“Energy. Bending. Care to explain exactly what that is?”

“Uh, well basically it’s the ability to bend another’s life energy.”

“Can you elaborate a bit more?” Her voice was clipped as she grew impatient with the vague responses. 

“I was trying to remove Ozai’s energy, which is what gives him the ability to firebend.”

She gasped along with several other members surrounding the table. _What the hell is he talking about?!_

“Avatar Aang,” Iroh started after recomposing himself. “Who taught you this technique?” 

The young monk shifted uncomfortably in his seat and remained quiet as everyone waited for his answer. Several painstakingly quiet minutes passed.

“Aang. Where. Have. You. Been.” Sokka rasped through gritted teeth. His jaw was taut and his knuckles turning white in clenched fists clutching the table's edge. Suki reached her foot out under the table to lightly press on Sokka’s as a reminder for him to calm down, his jaw slackened. It wouldn’t do well for Aang to go running off again before they got answers. Although she wasn’t sure if that was even possible in his mangled body’s current state. 

“I uh, don’t know if I can really say, but I was taught by an ancient lion turtle.”

“A lion turtle.” Suki deadpanned. 

“Aang. You just took off and left us all in the dust. We searched for you for weeks and you had us all worried sick, my sister wouldn’t stop crying. And now you can’t even be straight with us.”

“Well you all wouldn’t understand! I couldn’t kill Ozai and you all kept pressuring me! That is not the way of the monks!” Sokka flinched at the harsh words of the Avatar.

“Besides it doesn’t even matter anyways.” The Avatar let out a huff and slumped in defeat. “It didn’t work.” 

Suki chimed back into the conversation. “Yeah, why exactly was that Aang? You went down pretty hard. Sokka and I were lucky to catch you in time.”

“I— I don’t know. I only had a month to learn the technique, I didn’t master it. There were risks.”

“So let me get this straight?” Sokka started to rise out of his seat. “You went and learned some bullshit bending that no one has ever heard of? Then you didn’t even think about the consequences of using it on the world’s number one enemy before mastering it?! Instead of just killing him like we all advised you to do! What the fuck were you thinking Aang! He was planning to _burn_ the entire Earth Kingdom! How could you not put the well-being of the world before your own personal moral dilemmas, you’re the goddamn Avatar!”

Aang looked shocked at Sokka’s outburst, as did the members of the White Lotus. Suki’s own eyes widened as she struggled to maintain her composure, reaching out to pull him back in his chair. Her mind felt muddled, searching for any way they could have changed their last argument with the Airbender before he had run off. Maybe, just maybe they could have changed things. Maybe they should’ve listened to Zuko when he voiced his concerns about the monk. 

_______

The only thing keeping him from charging over to strangle the little monk was Suki’s firm grip on his shoulder anchoring him to his chair. He kept his glare firmly planted on Aang as Iroh cleared his throat. 

“Well this surely is unprecedented. Unfortunately what’s done is done. Avatar Aang we must remember, just as ripples spread out when a single pebble is dropped into water, the actions of individuals can have far-reaching effects. We must find a way to move forward and successfully remove Ozai and Azula from their respective thrones before the ripples of your choice tears the remainder of the world apart.” 

Sokka had to hand it to the old general, he sure knew how to tactfully tell someone they had fucked up. 

A firm voice cut in from his left. “King Bumi, Master Pakku, and Grand Master Iroh, we’ll need your assistance to continue the Avatar’s training as his new teachers if possible.”

Suki always wooed him with her impressive attention to detail. This woman beside him seemed to skillfully dance her mind alongside his own line of thought filling in anything he missed.

“It would be our pleasure General Suki.” Iroh bowed his head in her direction.

“I’ll have the warriors prepare private quarters for you each.”

“Why would I need new teachers?” _Crap._ “I already have the three best masters. Toph, Zuko, and Katara!”

Sokka felt the silence constricting around their throats threatening to collapse them under the pressure. Disclosing this news to Aang worried him, particularly the part concerning Katara. He wasn’t blind, he saw the longing gazes and flushed cheeks that seemed ever present on Aang’s face around his sister. There was an obvious crush that seemed to have harbored an over attachment that made him nervous about upsetting him. 

“Where are they?” He watched as the airbender’s eyes widened and he began to frantically look around for answers. Sokka provided him with one bracing himself for the oncoming outburst. 

“Dead.”

A beat passed

Two. 

Three.

The room began to shake from resounding laughter. The monks' cackles filled the room in hysteria. After a few moments he looked around and began to calm his giggling down after seeing how solemn the rest of the room looked. Sokka kept his breathing even as his stomach began to drop.

“Ha ha very funny Sokka! But seriously where is everyone?”

“Aang it wasn’t a joke.”

The monk's face fell and his laughter remained a haunted memory.

“Wh—what do you mean?!”

“He means, they’re dead Aang!” Suki exploded from his left knocking her chair over. “We had to leave them on the airship to save _you_ and it fucking exploded in front of our eyes!” 

He was trying to hold onto hope. Hope that when he sent Kai off he would bring back his sisters and brother alive and whole. It was foolish, he knew that deep down. The words Suki and him were saying were probably true. But, he had to hold on to something, Katara would do it for him. She always believed in the impossible, then again she had always believed in Aang. 

“N—No! She can’t be dead! I did this all for her! I practically gave up the Avatar state for her! I love her!” Aang was standing across from Suki screaming in hysterics. 

_Wait— what?!_

“What did you just say about the Avatar state?” His voice came out edged with venom.

Aang shrunk back into his chair.

“No— nothing.”

“No I heard you. What do you mean you _gave up_ the Avatar state? You just said you couldn’t go into it.”

“Well uh… funny story, remember when I went to visit Guru Pathik? He um tried to help me unlock my chakras. But I didn’t finish it properly, he said if I left I would have trouble accessing the Avatar state.”

_No. no. no. no._

“Excuse me Avatar Aang, are you saying you are not able to access the Avatar state at all?” Iroh questioned from the opposite end of the table.

“Well… no.”

“Is that why you weren’t using it to fight Ozai after the energybending failed?” Suki was still standing gritting her teeth together with her hands balled at her sides.

“I didn’t think I’d need it after I took away his bending!”

“Oh dear.” Iroh broke his mask, forehead wrinkling with concern.

“And what. the. hell. does that have to do with my sister.”

Aang gulped before answering. “I— I love her! Guru Pathik told me I had to let go of my earthly attachments to open my last chakra. I would’ve had to let go of Katara!”

Sokka was positive if he was a firebender he would be exhaling smoke at that very moment. How could Aang hide this from them for over a year without even mentioning it before the comet that could’ve gotten them all killed. What’s worse? Now he had to deal with a kid who was stuck falsely believing Katara belonged to him, refusing to do his duty because of a false view of love. Before the battle his sister had confided in him her dreams to travel the world alone to heal villages and make a name for herself as a healer after the war, letting her go to be free to make her own choices was exactly what she needed. She was always a visionary and deserved the weight of responsibility off her back after taking care of them all for so long. He also felt that her treatment of Aang resembled one of a mother, after all he had seen how she behaved around the boys she liked while on the road. But, she was probably dead so it didn’t even matter anymore. For the sake of his friend's sanity, he decided to put aside addressing his unrequited feelings and cut straight to the point. 

“Well maybe if you did she wouldn’t be dead right now!”

This was cruel, he knew it deep down, but he didn’t care. His sister was probably ash right now all because of some fourteen year old kids crush on her! He couldn’t stop his rampage.

“You couldn’t tell us this before! _My sister_ is dead now because of your selfish decisions! Our friends are fucking dead! The whole world is probably going to burn because you couldn’t listen to your Guru and then lied to us about it for an entire year! You couldn't put aside your personal morals for the good of the world!” Suki was pulling him back and shoving him against the wall. He wasn’t sure when he stood up and started screaming in Aang’s face, but his mind was raging with anger. She shot him a warning look before letting him go and turning around. 

“Look Aang we all know how much you want to be a ‘normal’ kid, but your duties as the Avatar come first. We don’t get to choose the lives we are born into. This is war, not some ancient tale where you sacrifice everything for what you think is love. How could you be so selfish?” She kept her voice calm, clear, and strong. 

Aang was shaking. Out of anger or regret, Sokka wasn’t quite sure. He remained still as Iroh rose from his chair, demanding the attention of the room. 

“I believe we have all heard enough. General Suki if you could please assist me by retrieving a messenger hawk I’ll be sending out a missive to a White Lotus member to locate Guru Pathik to send him here to assist Avatar Aang with opening his final chakra. It is of utmost importance for an Avatar to be fully realized in order to maintain balance in the world. Our number one priority from here forward will be to complete your training.”

With that the meeting commenced. Before leaving the room, Sokka looked over to Aang and was shocked to see a tense look of deep concentration. For some strange reason he couldn’t shake the feeling that Aang was leaving out something important.

_______

After retrieving a messenger hawk for Iroh, Suki headed to her quarters to get some much needed sleep. She couldn’t believe the comet had been less than 24 hours ago. Her mind was buzzing with various states of worry, disbelief, and anger. The meeting had left her with more unanswered questions and it was hard for her to hold back the rage she felt towards the young monk. They had never become particularly good friends, they talked in passing during their travels and once she joined the group most of her time was consumed with the resistance or Sokka. It shocked her that someone who contained the spirit of the fierce warrior Kyoshi could have such cowardice in the face of evil. Of course his beliefs varied from her own, but she had always regarded the Avatar as someone who transcended their own culture in order to maintain balance. 

She tried to push these thoughts away while slipping into her room, but it appeared that sleep was going to have to wait as she was greeted with Sokka already waiting for her. He was perched on the edge of her cot with his back hunched over and his elbow on his knee. His face was resting in his hand and he looked up when she walked in with a look of defeat on his face. 

She exhaled and crossed her arms while narrowing her eyes. 

“What are you doing in here, Sokka?”

“Suki I’m sorry about what I said earlier, I was just upset about my sister and I was taking my anger out on you instead of the actual person who caused it.” He pleaded with her. 

She hummed and perked an eyebrow up. 

“I know, you’re hurting too. I know they were your friends. I had no excuse to react that way. Absolutely none. It was unacceptable and I will never treat you like that again. I should have never brought up your rescue. It was wrong and I’m sorry. Just please Suki, I need you right now. _Please_.” His eyes were glistening with unshed tears. 

Part of her was still upset that he stooped so low, but she pushed it to the back of her mind. She needed comfort as much as he did right now, because whether she admitted it out loud or not. _She was scared too._

“If you ever talk to me like that again, I’ll beat your ass just like I did on Kyoshi Island.” Her voice had an underlying tease to it. She sat down gently next to him and pulled him in for an embrace. 

“I know you will.” He mumbled into her neck. 

“And for the record… I need you too.” 

He tightened his hold around her and they spent some time consoling each other's griefs. They discussed the new developments and drafted a new plan for Kai to execute if he did find their friends. They agreed on one clear decision, Aang could not find out Katara was alive. The world was depending on this secret. 

_______

As dusk approached Sokka slipped out to meet Kai by the stables holding the ostrich horses. He was greeted with the sight of his friend dressed in the browns and greens of the Earth Kingdom to seamlessly blend in with other refugees. His signature Water Tribe wolf tail had been released and a small sack filled with supplies was fitted on his ostrich horse. Sokka handed him a quiver filled with arrows along with his signature bow to sling on his back. A couple daggers were hidden underneath his waist belt and inside his boots. Once properly equipped they moved to sit on a metal bench to strategize before Kai took his leave. 

Sokka needed to catch him up on the new discoveries from yesterday’s meeting. 

“What does this mean? I didn’t realize Katara had a relationship with the Avatar.” Kai's gaze was hardened and set on the floor.

“She doesn’t. The kid has a crush that’s gotten way out of hand.”

“Well this crush is hindering the abilities of our strongest ally. The Avatar has to be able to enter his most powerful state or we’re all screwed.” 

Sokka nodded. 

“I know Kai, Suki and I talked about it last night.”

“So what do I do if I actually find them?”

“Well, we decided the best thing is for them to stay dead.”

Kai’s head snapped up to stare at his face, lips pinched and brows furrowed.

“What does _that_ mean?”

Sokka took in a deep breath before releasing an exhale containing all the burdens piling on his shoulders.

“It means… until Aang fixes his issues we can’t bring them here. No one can know they survived. This stays between us and Suki. If you somehow find them contact me and we’ll set up a meeting in one of the nearby towns. Feel free to tell them what you know. By that time Suki and I should have a more complete picture of what’s exactly happening with Aang. Depending on his progress we’ll go from there, I’ll have a safe house set up where they can hide out.”

“Okay.” His voice was strained. 

“Here’s the map I promised you. I marked all the major coastal towns they might be traveling along on their way here, make sure to stop at the smaller villages.” 

Kai carefully took the map and unrolled it, eyes scanning over the circled names while his fingers played with the edges. 

“Follow the Su Oku River north until you reach the town, you’ll be able to cross it on their bridge. Then make your way down to follow the Fire Nation and Earth Kingdom colonies that line the Mo Ce Sea shoreline.”

He watched his friend nod, stand up, and tuck the map into his bag. Sokka stood and reached out to grip his brother’s forearm to say goodbye. 

“And Kai, be safe and watch your back.”

“I will. See you soon Sokka.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Meta Bits:  
> Another big one with lots of plot info hehe. First obviously this is NOT canon w/ LOK's lore of Lion turtles, I'm sorry it just made no sense to me. So in this version he has to learn the bending style because there is no dual ex machina because that's bullshit. Most of the issues with Aang are not a critique of him per-say because he's literally a kid and I sympathize with the fact he just wanted things to be easier, but I'm more critiquing the ridiculous writing that was the finale. I hope it didn't come off too harsh but most of the aggressive scenes were more about the emotions of the characters based on them losing.
> 
> In the show he did tell them he had no avatar state but never explained why aka guru pathik, the chakra, and Katara... i feel like the writers didn't really give justice to what letting go meant in the way of spirituality. Like it means being free of tethers tying you to this earth... not never loving someone. Anyways...
> 
> Sokka is obviously angry because tbh he thinks his sister is dead. Katara means the most to him and he was super emotional about Suki being in prison in cannon so I can imagine him blowing up.
> 
> The whole war meeting scene changed to an intelligence mission because Zuko left the FN for a year in this story and theres no way he would know that so i adjusted it to fit. Also is it just me or did Suki and Aang barely have any interactions? I head cannon them as not really having much of a personal relationship.


	6. Muddled Thoughts

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the late upload! I had to edit today because I had finals this past weekend >:l
> 
> anyways... the next couple chapters are a bit slower, fluffier, and more filler. Because I wanted to write the group having a little bit of happiness, fun, and bonding moments. It's still technically needed to keep the plot rolling, but I hope you guys enjoy the calm before the storm. (:
> 
> TW: Also again be aware of the tags, second half of this chapter could be triggering for some, ty and take care <3

A couple of days passed after the night Ty Lee stumbled into their camp as they took off towards the Abbey. Katara was pleasantly surprised at how well she fit into their dynamic, despite her overly chatty behavior at times. The following night at their new camp Katara and Zuko were unsuccessful in trying to talk to Toph about her distanced behavior, the earthbender continued to keep her feelings to herself. Each day that passed Toph grew more quiet, less jokes passing her lips, and fewer punches thrown at their arms. It concerned them, but all they could do was wait for when she was ready to open up. They went back to their normal sleeping routine of nestling into each other with Zuko and Katara holding Toph as she quietly sobbed each night until exhaustion overcame her body. Ty Lee kept to herself during these times, seeming unsure if she should be viewing these vulnerable moments. 

They finally reached the shoreline with only one day left of trekking. As the sun set Toph sat with Ty Lee chatting about the older girls' experience in prison, meanwhile Katara scraped together a dinner of fried rice with some of the remaining vegetables. Zuko was seated next to her helping stoke the fire, keeping the flame hot.

“I’m nervous about going to the Abbey.” He drummed the fingers of his free hand on his knee. 

She kept her eye on the pot as she tossed carrots into the hot oil while stirring it. 

“Why?”

“Well because last time I was there I basically knocked down their front door with June’s shirshu while I was chasing you all down.” A faint pink tint graced Zuko’s cheeks as he averted his gaze downwards. 

Katara tossed in the rice and some spices, continuing to toss the contents of the pot, motioning for Zuko to raise the heat level.

“Zuko that was nearly 3 years ago.” She mused. “They probably don’t remember, plus you look completely different now so they won’t even recognize you. Remember we’re just random Fire Nation colonists displaced after the comet. We’ll be fine.” She shot a small smile his way.

“Hmmm, I guess.” His face remained tense, lips pulled into a frown. 

She huffed while quickly dishing the meal into four bowls. Her hands gently bent some water into the steaming pot, before she leaned over to squeeze Zuko’s upper arm.

“Everything is going to be okay.” Her fingers trailed along his warm skin. “I know you dwell on your past mistakes, but you aren’t that person anymore.”

Their eyes stayed locked a second too long until she pulled away, standing up to take two bowls over to the girls. She quietly thanked the Spirits again for Ty Lee’s presence as she eased even more of the burden around camp. Katara knew she wouldn’t have to worry about cleaning up the dishes tonight as the bouncy girl would take care of it. This gave her time to focus on healing Zuko’s chest each night, which had helped it get progressively better.

She sat back down near the firebender and dove into her dinner. 

“Sugarqueen, what’s the plan when we get to this place?” Katara smiled gently at hearing her nickname finally used again by her friend. 

“Well we stay for a couple of days to get some proper rest, help out a little bit to earn some supplies and hopefully they’re able to connect us with someone who can get us to Makapu.” 

“What’s Makapu like?” Toph questioned with a stuffed mouth.

“Oh you guys will just love it!” Katara gushed as she recalled one of her favorite memories from her early travels. “It’s such a quaint village and they have this amazing fortune teller there, we’ll have to go!” 

“Wow! Does she read auras too? I can’t wait to get a palm reading, I’ve heard all about those!” Ty Lee piped in with an ear-to-ear grin. 

Zuko groaned. 

“Please don’t tell me you guys believe in that mumbo-jumbo.”

“Of course I do Zuko! She read my palms. And according to her I’m going to marry a _powerful_ bender!” She smirked at the grumpy boy next to her. 

He snorted, shook his head, and continued munching on his dinner.

She spent the night chatting to Ty Lee about psychic abilities until their eyes began to droop.

The following morning they set off excited to finally reach some semblance of civilization. They crossed a river using an ice bridge Katara crafted and she relished in the feeling of bending for something other than domestic work or healing. It was a pain to limit their bending. 

She took the lead as they approached the entrance gates with Toph holding her hand to play up the “blind” act. Zuko stood close behind her keeping his head down with Ty Lee next to him. Reaching out her free hand she loudly rapped on the wooden gates. Shuffling could be heard from inside the walls and she held her breath as the door slowly opened. A nun dressed in white and green robes greeted them with a gentle smile, taking in their appearances. Katara gently bowed and her companions followed her lead.

“Hello young ones, what brings you to our doorsteps?” 

“Our village was destroyed during the comet and we’re seeking temporary refuge to get back on our feet. My husband and his blind niece accompany me, and we met this young woman while traveling to your sanctuary. We’re willing to exchange our skills for lodging if we are allowed to stay here.” Her hand tightened its hold on Toph’s hand.

“Very well young lady, stay here while I speak to Mother Superior. I’m sure we can find some rooms for you.”

They stood in silence as they waited for the nun to return. Katara fidgeted with her low bun, feeling uneasy about potentially being recognized. She had changed a lot over the last two years, growing a few inches along with her face shedding some baby weight. Without her signature blues and Water Tribe hairstyle she was fairly confident in her disguise, but her blue eyes stood out no matter where she traveled. 

The nun returned with another trailing behind and they pushed open the pair of doors. 

“You are all welcome to stay as long as needed. We ask that the young man leaves his weapon in the front storage as we don’t allow any inside the walls.”

Zuko looked at Katara and she nodded her head when she sensed his hesitancy. He slowly removed his katana and handed it over to one of the women. 

“Thank you so much for your generosity.” She flashed a grin at both of the nuns.

“It’s our pleasure, we’ll take you to your quarters momentarily. As far as your work, young man we have some repairs that need tending that’s too strenuous for our women. You two young ladies will help with the cleaning and cooking and will report to the main hall. The young one can assist our sisters in their perfume making. Perhaps the scents will be a fun treat to stimulate her senses.” A warm smile graced her lips. 

“That sounds wonderful!” Katara beamed back. 

“Sister Tan will lead you all to your rooms. You can take the day to settle in. Dinner will be at sundown in the main hall. Work begins tomorrow at sunrise.”

The nun bowed before taking her leave. They followed Sister Tan through the courtyard to the rooms along the left wall. Ty Lee and Toph were given a room with two cots to share. Zuko and Katara followed to the neighboring room, both eyes widening as they took in the single larger bed sitting in the center. She had almost forgotten their elaborate lie and felt heat rush to her cheeks. As soon as Sister Tan left they both began unpacking their things in silence avoiding each other's eyes. 

Luckily Toph entered the room moments later with a loud cough and strolled over to their bed throwing herself on top. 

“Well I know where I’m sleeping tonight!”

Katara and Zuko exchanged looks before bursting into laughter. She was relieved that the awkward tension had lifted.

_Why was that? It’s not like I haven’t shared a bed roll with him for the past two weeks._

She shook the thoughts away and settled on believing it was just because of the change in scenery. 

________

It had been five days at the sanctuary and Toph decided she absolutely hated the Abbey. It was bad enough hiding her bending during their travels, but now pretending to actually be blind was driving her mad. Sure the food was decent and they actually had a real bed to sleep in, but the perfume making classes she was forced to sit through made her senses all muddled. And she couldn’t take one more nun yelling at her not to litter. _Ugh!_

It felt like she was in that cage again that she had worked so hard to break free from. Her head was screaming for her to run away, but she was already sprinting. Zuko and Katara were the only thing keeping her grounded to the happiness she had briefly known. When they held her at night she could pretend they were on their way to another town camping out before the comet ruined everything. Sometimes she would dream of Sokka’s laugh, Aang’s cheerful musings, and Suki’s sassy remarks. When she woke up, she wanted nothing more than to sink into bed and sleep forever. Her control on her life was slipping away, but she was too prideful to share her worries. Each day she wondered if things would get better and stop being so dull. All she wanted was to teach Aang earthbending again, make fun of Sokka, and drive Katara crazy. She just wanted to smile again. 

Ty Lee was a nice distraction from the misery in her mind. She would jabber on and on about anything that came to mind keeping her entertained. It seemed like she had finally been released from a cage too. Toph had a feeling the princess didn’t really let her talk much. But similarly to herself, the girl tended to avoid mentioning anything about her past and personal life, conversations being mostly trivial. 

Toph was led from the perfume making room by one of the nuns. Since their arrival one escorted her everywhere much to her dismay.

Once they dropped her off in her shared quarters, Ty Lee spoke from her perch on the cot. “Thanks Sister Tan!”

Stretch was always so cheerful. 

Toph waited for the nun to retreat and threw herself on a bed. 

“I’m so tired of this place. I can’t get all the oil smells out of my clothes!” She blew her bangs away from her mouth. 

“But the nuns are so nice!”

“Yeah, they’re nuns. I’m pretty sure ‘mean’ isn’t even in their vocabulary.”

“Hmmm. I guess. Well we won’t be here much longer! Katara’s helping Mother Superior with dinner tonight and is going to ask about Makapu.”

Toph hummed and secretly prayed things went well. She lounged while Ty Lee cleaned up, losing herself in thought. Once Stretch was done she came back to fetch her for dinner and they were joined by Sparky on their way to the main hall. She sat at the end of the long communal table waiting for her friends to fetch the food. Zuko placed a bowl in front of her and she dove into the chilled noodle dish. He helped her add some salt and sugar for additional flavor to her bowl. Katara shuffled her feet as she sat across the table next to Ty Lee. 

“Ming this stuff is good! Much better than that veggie stew on the road.” Noodles hung off her chopsticks as she addressed Katara.

“Gee thanks _Sheng_ glad you like my cooking so much.” She replied sarcastically.

“How did your talk with Mother Superior go?” Sparky cut in. 

“Well… I have great news! She said they have a few small fishing boats that they store at the docks. They don’t really get much use out of them so she said we can take one in exchange for Lee finishing up all the repairs!”

He groaned beside Toph.

“Sparky how long until you can finish those?” She lifted the bowl, titling it at her lips to slurp up the broth.

“At least another week, there’s so much roofing work to be done. It’s like no one has done repairs in years!”

“Well I for one,” she pointed her chopsticks at her chest, “cannot wait to get out of this place! Start hammering like your life depends on it!”

They all laughed as they finished up their noodles and Toph finally was beginning to see a glimmer of hope in the distance. She would be counting down the days.

________

Yesterday Zuko had finally finished all the repairs and he was looking forward to leaving the Abbey this afternoon. Despite the heavy manual labor his body was feeling the best it had in the past month. Proper sleep in a bed and safety in the sanctuary had done a lot to ease the stress on his body. Along with that Katara had been exploring a new technique, completely submerging him in the tub to surround him with healing energy at night in their chambers.

After breakfast that morning she dragged him to the main hall to help grab some supplies the nuns had gifted them for their journey. He piled the baskets atop each other and carried them back to their quarters. They sorted and packed all of their belongings before making their way to the front gate with Ty and Toph trailing behind. Zuko retrieved his katana to secure on his waist belt. Katara and Ty Lee hugged the nuns goodbye, while Toph stood with her arms crossed nodding at any of the nuns who approached her. He moved to grab the baskets, but Mother Superior stopped him with a tug on his shirt and he stood to face her. 

“Lee, we cannot thank you enough for all the help. We will not forget your kindness.”

He could feel his cheeks heating as he felt flustered by the sudden compliment. 

“U-uh it’s no problem Mother Superior, it was the least I could do.” He rubbed the back of his neck and heard Katara snickering. 

“No need to be humble, boy! Now take this as our thanks, buy your lady something nice in Makapu.” She placed a small sack in his hand flashing a small wink.

Now he could feel his cheeks scorching red as he peeked into the bag full of Earth Kingdom coins.

“I-I can’t accept this…”

“Nonsense, what use do we have for monetary donations when we already have everything we need. Now take it and we wish you all luck on your journey.”

He was at a loss for words, but as usual Katara filled in all the spaces he was missing with that infectious spirit. 

“Thank you Mother Superior, my husband is too modest at times. It was a pleasure to stay with you all. We hope to see you again.” They all bowed and left towards the shoreline.

Once they were a safe distance from the Abbey, Katara hunched over and started giggling uncontrollably. 

“Oh you should’ve seen your— your face! Don’t forget _husbanddd_ you owe me something nice once we reach Makapu.” She was holding her stomach as the other two girls' cackles joined her own. 

He scoffed and nudged Katara with his shoulder.

“Shut up I just felt bad taking their money! They don’t really know who I am!”

They continued teasing him on the way to the fishing boat. Once they arrived they placed all the supplies inside, and he helped boost Toph into the boat. Katara began waterbending them South towards the island. He spent the ride sorting through the baskets with Ty Lee. They were gifted dried goods, fruits and veggies, hygienic items, and a set of night clothes for each of them.

When the sun started to set, the docks came into view. They secured their boat and each grabbed some supplies before following Katara as she led the way. He took in the scenic view of the volcano towering over the quaint village. From the distance he noticed deep trenches surrounding Makapu, with wooden bridges above creating walkways at regular intervals. 

“Wow! They kept the trenches Aang made last time we were here during the eruption. The bridges are so nice.”

He paled slightly at the mention of their friend and the news of a volcanic eruption. 

“Uh Sugarqueen, does that thing erupt often?” Toph chirped from beside him.

“Hmmm, no idea!”

He exchanged a worried glance with Ty Lee over the head of the earthbender. Katara exchanged words with a few villagers to locate the local inn. He took in the colorful clothing worn on the island, a sea of blues, purples, and pinks, mixed in with the normal greens and browns. They finally found the inn and requested two rooms with two beds for the night. The Fire Nation had no military presence on Makapu, making it safe to drop most of their story. Zuko would still go by Lee to stay on the safe side. He tossed two silver pieces on the countertop in exchange for two sets of keys. This time Toph decided to stay with Ty Lee and they settled in for the night.

Katara drew the bath and called him over to begin his session for the night. As the water began to glow they held easy conversation.

“Tomorrow I’ll take you all to meet Aunt Wu, she’ll probably remember me!” Her eyes held a soft gaze.

“Whatever makes you happy.” He watched the smooth planes of her face and her slightly furrowed brow as she concentrated.

She hummed as she smiled tenderly. 

“Katara,” He cleared his throat, “I’ve been meaning to talk to you about something.”

“What is it Zuko?” She glanced up before focusing back on her hand dipped in the water.

“Well now we’re here on Makapu, Ty basically thinks we’ve reached our destination. What are we going to do now? As much as this place seems like a dream after the last month. We have to eventually leave and look for everyone else.” He watched her face fall slightly as she gazed into the water.

“Yeah I know.” Her voice was small and he regretted bringing her back to reality. 

“But I mean, we can stay as long as you want. There’s no rush.”

“We both know that’s not entirely true. But yeah… I suppose we’ll have to tell her eventually. We spent a lot of time together back in the Abbey and although I’m not sure if we can trust her, I don’t think she has anywhere else to go.”

“Okay, I trust your judgement.” And he meant it. She had gotten them this far somehow. She had been mending him back together for thirty days straight. She seemed to have an easy way with everyone she met. He knew she was their life source. 

________

Katara treated herself to a luxurious bath that night soothing her sore muscles from bending all day. She combed through her locks and enjoyed the feel of fresh clothing on her skin. It was the first time she felt stress free since their journey began. Zuko extinguished the candles as she snuggled under her sheets. However, the peace quickly faded as her mind began to wander in her solitude. 

_Is Sokka and Dad okay? What happened to Aang? Does Suki miss me? Who’s taking care of all of them?_

_I hope Sokka is making sure Aang’s meals are vegetarian. I hope Suki told Sokka to bathe._

_Is Toph okay? She’s all alone._

_I miss her.  
I miss them. _

_I feel so alone.  
I’m so scared to be alone. _

Her breathing was coming in quick gasps and she felt her heart rate rising as she tossed from side to side. Her mind was running so fast she didn’t register the warm body slowly sitting on the edge of her bed. She felt her shoulders still into the firm grasp of the firebender.

“Katara, what’s wrong?”

“I can’t sleep.”

“Okay.”

“I can’t stop thinking.”

“I know.”

“I miss them.”

“Me too.”

“Do you think Toph’s okay?”

“If she wasn’t she would bust through our door.”

“Okay.”

He released her shoulders and stood up abruptly, lighting a single candle in their room. 

“Let’s push the beds together, okay? I don’t mind if it helps you sleep.”

She nodded her head and stood to help push them together. They crawled under the sheets and with a flick of his wrist it was dark again. He laid on his back and opened up his arm to allow her to snuggle into his side. He kept his arm loosely wrapped around her, and lightly rubbed her shoulder.

“They’re okay ya know.” Zuko’s voice was raspy in her ear. “They’re strong.”

She hummed and felt her mind calm as she drifted away, melting into his warmth.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Meta Bits:  
> Hehehe I literally love Zutara with tension, confused pining, and emotional support like UGH.
> 
> Also the Abbey is from the episode with Bato if you don't remember, we're taking a little reverse tour of some iconic spots in ATLA world. I had to throw that little jab at the fortuneteller episode (I have a love/hate relationship with this one).
> 
> Also Toph is depressed, I didn't wanna outright say it, but I'm sure if you've experienced it you can kind of tell from her trains of thought. And Katara ): ugh it makes me literally sad to write her suffering.
> 
> I'm like kinda iffy about this chapter because I had to cut it otherwise it would've been WAY too long, but the next two I'm really proud of.
> 
> Thank you again for all the comments, it really has made my day reading them (-: I could talk about ATLA all day. Also... if any of you are AOT fans... how have you been coping because I was a mess this weekend. 
> 
> See ya Wednesday!


	7. Intertwined Destinies

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy Wednesday! Thank you again for all the comments and feedback you guys really make my day (:
> 
> First half of this chapter is honestly purely self-indulgent and I AM NOT ASHAMED.
> 
> Enjoy the fun and a little cameo from our favorite fortuneteller.

Katara awoke to Zuko dragging her out of bed, shoving a sliced mango into her hands, and telling her to get dressed to go into town before the girls woke up. When she asked why he just said he really needed to get something in the market. She was annoyed that he woke her up at such an ungodly hour when he could’ve found the market himself, but decided to play nice after he had been there for her the previous night.

The streets were buzzing with early morning foot traffic as she led him to the small center of shops. She was confused when he hooked a sharp right, away from the food stalls making his way towards the clothing shops. They entered one displaying more colorful items, including the beautiful blues that reminded her so much of home. She lagged behind gazing at a particularly beautiful kimono before he grabbed her hand and dragged her to one of the racks in the back.

“You woke me up to get yourself some new clothes?” She snapped with a narrowed glare.

“Not me, you.” He was doing that thing where we rubbed the back of his neck and avoided her eyes.

Her mouth dropped open slightly.

“It’s just I know you must be missing home, and I know it’s not the same as your Water Tribe clothes, and I just thought the blues kind of reminded me of you, and I know it’s kind of stupid, but I did kind of owe you, so I just thought…”

She started giggling and threw her arms around his neck bringing him in for a tight embrace.

“Thank you Zuko. You’re a great friend.”

When she released him he flashed her a crooked smile. It was strange to think a year ago she hated the living guts out of this sweet boy who had become one of her closest friends. He was always really thoughtful in bringing her out of her bad moods and she appreciated all his efforts. 

After trying on a few outfits and twirling around to the sound of Zuko’s laughs she finally settled on a beautiful turquoise kimono top with dark blue lining and wide sleeves. She paired it with a matching skirt that flowed to her feet. He helped her pick out a fancy hairpiece to wrap half her hair in a small bun atop her head. As they left he threw a pair of silver pieces on the counter and she felt slightly guilty for wasting money on something so frivolous.

She nibbled on her bottom lip on the walk back to the inn.

“You look really nice.” 

Her guilt promptly faded as she began to feel like she was walking on a cloud.

“Thanks.” She managed to squeak out. 

Their widened eyes met for a second before they both ducked their heads. 

_______

Zuko couldn’t stop thinking about how stupid he felt after complimenting Katara. He had no idea what possessed him to blurt that out, but after seeing her worried eyes at the price he just wanted the smile on her face to return. They didn’t bring it up again as they sliced apples, mangos, moon peaches, and papaya for breakfast that morning. They were soon joined by Ty and Toph and he noted that Katara avoided eating any of the papaya, scrunching her nose whenever she eyed the fruit. 

_Stop thinking about the waterbender so much moron._

He shook his head and tossed some sliced peaches into his mouth. Ty Lee complimented Katara as well and her bright blue eyes twinkled while teasing about her _husband_ letting her cash in on that favor. He nearly choked on his fruit as Toph slammed her hand onto his back. 

_What the fuck is going on, get it together!_

They finished up the fruit platter and Katara led them towards the heart of the village. There were strange rock formations jutting out towards the base of the volcano, towering over the city in jagged shapes. He was so distracted by the sight he didn’t notice the young girl he crashed into, dropping her tray of bean curd puffs. Flushing with embarrassment he leaned down to help her pick everything up to stack back onto the tray. 

She couldn’t be more than twelve years old with thick hair fashioned into two unruly braids trailing down her back. Bangs framed her face with a thin golden headband circling the top of her head reminiscent of a crown. She had a small gap in her smile and was dressed in a pink and purple kimono dress. 

Just as Zuko was about to apologize Katara’s voice cut in.

“Meng! Is that really you?!”

The young girl looked over to the waterbender and her smile grew as recognition dawned upon her face. 

“Katara! It’s so good to see you again!”

Katara gave the small girl a hug and quickly surveyed her appearance. 

“You’ve grown so much! You’re turning into quite the stunning young woman. I see you’ve done something different with your hair.”

“Oh, yeah the headpiece helps keep it down. What are you doing here?” She looked around taking in the unfamiliar group. “Where’s Aang?” 

“Uh, we aren’t too sure… but I brought some new friends along this time. We were actually on our way to see Aunt Wu!”

“Oh, okay. I’m on my way there too! She’ll be happy to see a familiar face.” Meng’s eyes crinkled slightly. 

“Everyone, this is Meng, Aunt Wu’s assistant!” Katara gestured at each group. “Meng this is Ty Lee, Toph, and Lee.”

Katara continued catching up with the young girl on their way to the small shop. The strong aromatics of incense filled his nose as they stepped into the small waiting room. Meng led them to some colorful cushions resting on the floor. 

“You guys can wait here while I grab Aunt Wu, Zhang will fetch you all some tea. I would offer some bean curd puffs, but I dropped them all.” A pointed look was thrown his way.

“S—sorry about that!” He managed to blurt out. 

“No worries.” She covered her mouth while giggling, “Is Jasmine okay?”

“That’s perfect Meng.” Katara politely replied. 

They were brought a small green teapot with cups and Zuko distributed one to each of his companions. Toph sat leaning against the wall with her ankles and arms crossed. Ty Lee was gushing over the various crystals on display with Katara chatting excitedly about their upcoming fortunes. He slumped next to Toph keeping an eye on the girls as he gently sipped his tea.

“This is stupid” Toph grumbled.

“Yeah tell me about it.”

“I’ll be able to tell she’s lying.”

He leaned in to whisper near her ear. “Don’t ruin it for them. They’re really looking forward to this.”

“Fine. But next town we get to do something fun that _I_ pick!”

He ruffled the top of her head.

“You got it kid.”

“I’m not a kid!” She punched him sharply in the arm, spilling his tea all over his pants. 

“Ow!”

Katara looked over frowning, quickly bending the liquid out of his clothes.

“Can you two behave!” He scowled back at her.

“Katara!”

She quickly swiveled her head away from him towards the new voice. He took in the older woman adorned in exquisite golden dress robes. She had several pieces of jewelry decorating her fingers and neck. Her updo was secured with a gold headpiece and she held herself with an aura of confidence. 

Katara jumped up from her cushion and took the woman’s hands gently in her own grasp.

“Aunt Wu! It’s been ages, my friends and I are passing through, so I had to bring them to get their fortunes read by the best!” He could tell Katara was smitten over the woman. 

“Oh child, how wonderful it is to see you again! Where is the Avatar and your brother?”

“Oh” Her shoulders dropped, “they aren’t traveling with me right now.”

“I see… where are you staying?”

“Well we stayed at the local inn last night, and we’ll probably extend our time with them.” 

“With those prices?! You’re welcome to stay in the guest house above the shop. It’s empty now, since I’ve moved closer to the markets.” 

“Really? Thank you so much! We’ll try not to stay too long.”

The woman smiled gently at his friend's effervescent attitude before turning to study the rest of them. He felt her gaze lingering a second too long on him, and he shifted with discomfort.

“Very well dear. I’ll begin with this bubbly friend of yours, wait out here.”

Katara sat back down and he waited with her as Ty Lee got her reading, followed by Toph. Ty Lee came back with a dazed look in her eyes, and Toph sat back down in complete silence looking deep in thought. Meng finally returned to begin Katara’s reading.

“Um Aunt Wu actually would like for both of you to be present for the reading.” Her eyes flitted between Zuko and Katara. 

“Oh, uh okay then.” The waterbender exchanged a look of confusion with him. 

They stood and followed to the back room that was dimly lit from candles, red lanterns hanging from the ceiling, and a dull fire sitting in the center of the lowered platform. Muted fabrics draped along the walls and large vases decorated the corners of the room. He followed Katara to sit on one of the large cushions across from Aunt Wu. The older woman’s eyes followed Zuko closely with an unreadable expression. He felt unnerved as her eyes pierced into his hardened gaze. 

A few moments of silence passed as she continued her close scrutiny of them.

“Strange isn’t it young lady.”

“What is?” Katara glanced at him with a slight furrow in her brow.

“That a child of the sun travels with a child of the moon.”

_Shit._

His body tensed, his legs felt like lead, and he suddenly couldn’t breathe. Katara silently gasped next to him as her eyes widened. 

“Don’t fret child. I am not here to judge. Rather I just find it peculiar.”

They exchanged worried glances and waited for the old woman to continue. 

“And not just any child, but one blessed by the _Gods of Agni_.” Her eyes narrowed and he felt sweat begin to cling to the back of his neck. She turned her head towards Katara.

“I always knew you had greatness in your destiny. Please, both of you select a bone from the pile so we may begin your joint reading.”

“Um, if I may ask Aunt Wu… _why_ is it that we are having a joint reading?” Katara hesitantly asked. 

“When fate unites such opposing forces despite extremely turbulent times we tend to find their destinies intertwining in mysterious ways.”

_What the fuck does that mean?_

They both selected a bone from the pile and were instructed to toss it into the flames together. 

CRACK.

The flames grew suddenly and a loud noise echoed around them, he shielded his eyes until the fire burned back down to embers. The fortuneteller fished the bones out and began to examine the cracks in them. Katara sat on her knees leaning forward in anticipation. 

“Oh my…”

“What is it Aunt Wu?!” 

He sat in silence observing the two women. 

“The child of the sun and the child of the moon’s destinies have been intertwined long before they both realized. They suffered through great loss and were destined to form an unbreakable bond. Together you will both find greater power than you ever experienced alone and will become known throughout the land. Darkness threatens to consume you both. Whichever path you follow will contain impossible decisions that once made, are bound to create enormous change for the course of the world and those around you.”

_What a load of crap._

This woman was worse than listening to his uncle’s proverbs. At least those had some kind of lesson. As far as Zuko was concerned she might as well have just vaguely said what had already happened in his life. He already had darkness threaten him and made the impossible decisions. The need to roll his eyes was only quelled as he glanced at the awe in Katara’s.

 _Right. Pretend it was real for her and Ty Lee’s sake._ He could do that.

They thanked Aunt Wu for her time before fetching the other two to pick up their belongings to bring to their new small apartment. He hung back with Toph as the two older girls skipped ahead, sharing their readings to each other on the way to the inn. 

“Well that was underwhelming.” He sighed as his fingers ran through the ends of his hair.

“Hmmm, I guess.”

“What’s with you, I thought you didn’t believe in that stuff.” He muttered under his breath.

“I _don’t_ , but I don’t know Sparky. It was weird. She wasn’t lying. At least not to me.”

“ _Oh._ ”

“What did she even say to you guys?”

“Just some weird stuff about our destinies being intertwined and making great decisions that could affect the world.”

“She told me I would ‘make friends out of enemies and enemies out of friends’.”

“Well me and Ty Lee count so she’s halfway there.”

“Yeah sure…” She trailed off.

As they packed all their belongings he tried to shake off the eerie feeling of the afternoon’s events. Zuko was never one to buy into the mystical affairs of fortune tellers and shamans, but Toph’s observation left him unsettled. He was sure of one thing, he was never stepping foot in that shop again. 

_______

Ty Lee was buzzing with renewed vigor after they settled into their new temporary abode. During her reading with Aunt Wu she held on to every word as she spoke of the new journey that was blossoming within her life path. The fortune teller said she was finally going to have an opportunity to live as her true self and she would find genuine love from her opposite. Ty spent the next week thinking over the possibilities these vague words held. She felt hopeful that her new companions were the key to unlocking it all. 

They had settled into a comfortable rhythm in Makapu. She even purchased some stunning pink robes with cloud patterns embroidered, a local custom. Aunt Wu allowed her to do some work in her shop, reading auras to earn extra coins for her group. Zuko helped some merchants carry their supplies throughout the day and Katara sewed in the local clothing shops. Toph seemed restless, but was free to use her earthbending and she often found her showing off to the local kids on the outskirts of town after her shifts. Ty would drag her back to the apartment, the smell of Katara’s cooking greeting their noses with whatever new recipe she was trying out. They had grown closer after the first night in the inn when the young earthbender had slipped into her bed crying begging her not to bother Zuko and Katara. She comforted her by sharing folktales from her childhood and Toph began to easily fall asleep without tears clouding her eyes. It almost felt normal, like the war was a faraway dream that never existed except in their minds.

Two weeks into this fantasy it all came crashing down again. 

That evening, Toph and her arrived home to Zuko and Katara cooking dinner together. This was different. It was quite the feast with expensive roast turkey duck, rice, assorted steamed vegetables, and even her favorite treat from her childhood— green papaya salad. The chilis were hard to find outside of the Fire Nation and she was positive Zuko was the only person who could have prepared such a dish. She eyed it carefully remembering he had always complained about the sour taste when they were younger.

“It smells amazing, what’s the occasion Sugarqueen!” Toph seemed just as surprised by the extravagant dinner. 

“Uh no reason in particular, just wanted to try out some new recipes.”

She noticed Toph stare at the waterbender with a crease between her brows. There was a nagging in the back of her mind as she decided to lead the next question.

“Zuko! Papaya salad! I haven’t had that since we were kids, I didn’t know you liked it now?” She kept her voice sweet and innocent.

“Oh! Er, I don’t. I just figured I’d make something you liked, uh just to be nice.”

_Okay…_

They all knelt on the mats surrounding their low dining table with the delicious spread tingling their nostrils. Carefully reaching over she served Toph a little of everything before filling her own plate. 

She took her first bite filling her mouth with the taste of home, relishing in the tart and sweet flavors intermingling on her tongue. Between each crunch she was brought back to a time when things were simple. Mai sat next to her giggling at Zuko’s puckered face as Azula called him a brat for not enjoying the salad their mother made. Lady Ursa’s cooking was a special treat they enjoyed on their trips away from Caldera and the servants' watchful eyes. She silently wondered if Zuko held these same fond memories, or if they were tainted by all the demons that destroyed his innocence. 

When she opened her eyes she found him watching her curiously with a faint smile tugging at the corners of his lips. His eyes held a sadness that hadn’t been there when he was consumed by anger as a thirteen year old boy. 

_How had I never seen my friend breaking apart before…_

There was a guilt that came during her time in prison. Realizing the mistakes she made as she blindly followed her lifelong friend Azula. The young woman had been misguided by her father and sometimes Ty Lee felt angry that she had never realized it before. As furious as she was, she felt sympathy for her friend who would never get away from the reigns that evil man held around her neck. Looking into Zuko’s eyes she felt the same tugs of her heart, but they were more towards her own lack of understanding for someone she had once known so well. 

They continued dinner in silence each seemingly stuck in their own heads until Katara cleared her throat.

“Uh, Zuko and I actually did have a reason for cooking all this food. We need to discuss moving on from this town.”

 _Ah. There it was._ Of course every kind gesture was always made with an underlying intention. Azula exploited that. 

“What Katara means is, as much as we all have settled into a nice routine here. It’s just not sustainable. The war isn’t going to end just because we continue to ignore it.”

“Right, thanks Zuko. So Ty Lee we wanted to talk to you about what this all entails.” Katara looked towards Zuko once again waiting for him to pick up where she left off.

Her breath hitched. She knew what was coming next. They were cutting the loose ends. She was a liability. They had no reason to trust her. That just wouldn’t be the smart thing to do. That explained the salad.

“…so now that we all know you’re not trying to kill us we have a lot to catch you up on. Think you can keep up?”

 _Wait— what?_ She just nodded unsure if her own voice would betray the fear she was feeling inside.

“Well, first we need to tell you about the resistance…”

And that’s how Ty Lee found out about the secret underground army that Zuko had recruited with the help of the waterbender’s brother and his girlfriend. They weren’t abandoning her, in fact it was quite the opposite. They were _welcoming her_. Once they were able to track down their friends they would use Aang’s knowledge of Ty Lee’s secret to get everyone on board with letting her join. 

Then they told her about the day of the comet. About the Agni Kai. About the deranged princess. Her old friend. Her addiction. _No._ She couldn’t think that way again. About the Avatar. About the failure. About the weeks before she joined them. She took it all in. Yet her head still blared.

 _Azula needs someone. She needs you._ No. _Yes._ No. NO!

_She forgot about you._

_She left you to die._

_But her father… you know what he’ll do to her.  
You betrayed her._

_You’re probably the reason she’s losing it._

Ty Lee stood up abruptly and excused herself to take some time alone. She needed to get the princess out of her head. 

_______

Katara washed the dishes alone that night, giving Ty Lee space to process everything. Zuko was going over the details of the plan with Toph while they sipped tea on the cushions near the windows, something they did every night. This was one of the routines she would miss seeing the most. In her mind she knew they were doing the right thing by moving on to help fight the war, but her heart was filled with longing to maintain the simplicity she had grown to love over the last two weeks. She wasn’t excited to be thrown back into the unknown abyss that lay outside the confines of Makapu. 

It was just so easy here. To pretend they won the war.

There was a place to buy food every morning, a stove to cook each meal, a bed to lay in every night. Her friends all smiled more often. Her dreams calmed down. The lust for blood was a distant hum rather than a raging storm.

She leaned against the countertop reaching for a bean curd puff she bought from Meng that morning, losing herself in thought. Tomorrow her worries would all come back. Worry for the tiny earthbending girl who seemed to deflate upon realizing that reality was upon them again. Worry for the bubbly acrobat that seemed torn apart by her own circumstances. Worry for the disgraced prince who wouldn’t hesitate to get himself killed for all of their safety. And worry for herself. The waterbender who might consume herself with darkness if anyone ever tried to harm her family again. 

She came back when Zuko lightly tapped on her shoulder. He was standing in front of her with a concerned look on his face. Toph was already gone, in her room getting ready for bed. 

“What are you thinking about.” It wasn’t a question, more an observation that he expected an answer to. 

“Everything. I just really liked it here.” She sighed. 

_When did his eyes get so sad._

“I know what you mean. You should sleep. Big day tomorrow.”

He was right of course. She trudged over to her things to get prepared for bed. They still slept together, it helped her quell the nightmares. It was never anything more than an arm loosely wrapped around another, but it kept her grounded. As they were about to crawl onto the sleeping mat she heard a faint knock at the door. 

“Come in!” She called out.

Toph’s head peeked in as she slowly stepped inside with her arms wrapped around her torso.

“Hey, can I— uh, sleep in here tonight? Ty’s crying.”

“You’re always welcome here kid.” Zuko responded.

“Is she okay?” Katara began to get out of bed. “I can go talk to her.”

“No um, she said she wants to be alone.” Toph fiddled with her fingers. “It can be overwhelming ya know.”

“Right.”

They fit the tiny girl snug in between them, Zuko wrapping his arm under her neck to provide support and Katara snuggling into her side. She tried to provide comfort by stroking her friends hair as she heard the silent cries begin again.

“I— I don’t want to leave.” 

“Me either Toph.” And the dam broke as Katara’s cries began to mingle with her friends. 

Zuko sat up pulling them both into his arms to hold as they wept all their grievances away. He was being strong for all of them and she didn’t know how he wasn’t breaking to pieces. 

“Is that selfish Sparky?” Toph’s voice cracked. “I just want to let everyone else figure it out. I’m so tired.”

“No, not at all. I’m tired too. I’m so tired.”

Eventually they dozed off in his arms and she found herself waking up tucked into the sheets with Toph beside her. The warm smell of jook wafted through the air with bright notes of ginger and green onion tickling her nose. As they sat to enjoy the breakfast Zuko made she took in the red rimmed eyes dragging down Ty Lee’s cheerful features. 

He insisted on doing the dishes as the girls finished packing up what had become of their lives. Katara sat in front of the small mirror leaning against the wall observing the earthy greens and browns that encased her lean frame once again. She kneeled as she combed her hair back into the plain bun at the nape of her neck. Once again she saw no trace of a proud Water Tribe woman, and she wiped away the small trickle that ran down her cheek. 

_You are so strong seal pup. You are my little warrior._

Sometimes the voice in her head sounded like her mother. She tilted her chin up high and proud. Her gaze became icy and jaw clenched. She was a fighter. 

They left a note thanking Aunt Wu for the lodging and left town for their small boat. It was easier to save the goodbyes.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Meta Bits:  
> Hello another leg of their journey done! Whew parts of this really hurt to write. I want them to be happy so bad ):
> 
> The fortune is up to you to interpret. Are you more of a skeptic like Zuko, or do you believe in Aunt Wu's powers like Katara, and what could it be about? Also blessed by the 'Gods of Agni' basically = royal blood.
> 
> I really loved their time on this little island and the idea of them wanting to just be normal and pretend things didn't get all fucked up. *sigh*...
> 
> Ty Lee was interesting to expand on and explore in this chapter. Relationships are shifting and I love the bits where she thinks back to happy times when her and Zuko were childhood friends. It's all so bittersweet. Her relationship with Azula is very confusing to her. As the audience I'm sure we all have a view of Azula's treatment towards her friends, but personal relationships make you more invested in the why. She feels guilty about leaving her, because really can we all agree... the real bad guy was always her terrible father, aka Ozai. Not the 14 year old girl lmfao. (she's 17 in this timeline, but my point still stands)
> 
> Katara and Zuko are really gonna be holding this group together and I can't wait for the next chapter! *hint* it's our favorite firebender's birthday ;)
> 
> See ya Friday!


	8. Hope

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy Friday beautiful people! Once again your support means so much to me and I'm in awe at how many people are liking this story so far. This is my longest chapter so far, but the other's will be around the same length as before this one is just a bit special.
> 
> Two tidbits:  
> 1\. Yu Dao is a town that is a major plot point in the comics, if you want more info there's lots on Avatar Wiki, but I tried to include the ins n outs of the town, it'll be expanded upon in the next chapter as well.  
> 2\. TW for some of this chapter so be aware of my tags and read with care <3
> 
> On to Zuko's birthday shenanigans...

A week of travel began to wear down on his body. Sleep escaped him as he spent all his time worrying over the three girls in his company. Ty Lee had brushed off any attempts to console her, Toph was becoming mute again, and Katara was acting like nothing was wrong when he could see in her eyes that she was breaking apart. 

His own mind was eating him alive. Thoughts of Ozai, Azula, and Ursa kept him up at night.

_Father, little sister, mother._

The only thing keeping him going was the drive to fix his friends. Maybe once they had some stability at the base they would be better. Maybe. 

_You can’t even fix yourself. Pathetic._

Sometimes the voice in his head sounded like his father. The scowl fixed itself on his face as he listened. He was a failure. 

In the distance he could faintly see the sandstone walls surrounding their next destination. Their supplies were running low and Yu Dao was one of the last big cities before they began the long trek to Pohuai. He was a bit apprehensive about entering a Fire Nation colony and hoped that by keeping his head down he would avoid recognition. 

Once they entered the gates Ty Lee handled finding the local inn, avoiding inevitable questions about Katara’s eyes. He was shocked as they walked through the alleys towards the Green Flame Inn. The bustling city looked like a beautiful fusion of Ba Sing Se and Caldera, he had never seen anything like it before. Citizens were seen adorned in outfits merging both the red of the Fire Nation and the green of the Earth Kingdom. He even saw earthbenders and firebenders using their bending simultaneously in some of the shop windows, as equals. This beautiful harmony of nations was the opposite of what he had been taught about displaying power and status over the “lesser” nations. It almost brought tears to his eyes. It certainly did to Katara’s glistening ones. 

They found the inn towards the back of the city and quickly paid ten silver coins for two rooms and a three night stay. He settled into his shared room with Katara before the two older girls took off for the local shop. Toph threw herself on his bed as he continued unpacking.

“So, don’t think I forgot! You owe me something fun and I’m cashing in!”

He groaned.

“Sure, it just better not end up with us in jail!”

She hummed and a devilish smirk overtook her face. _Oh boy._ Before they could continue Katara and Ty Lee burst through the door flailing around a poster with excited gleams in their eyes. 

“Guess what! There’s a festival starting tomorrow!” Katara exclaimed.

“Oh and it’s not just any festival!” Ty Lee continued. “It’s the Fire Lily Festival Zuko! That means it's your birthday and you weren’t even gonna tell us!”

 _Damn that flexible circus freak._

“Ugh, it doesn’t really matter.” He muttered. 

“Nonsense, of course it does!” Katara chimed in with a click of her tongue. “You only turn nineteen once Zuko. Now stop moping and get ready to celebrate!” 

_Curse the waterbender too._

“They’re going to recognize me Katara.” His head tilted to the side. 

“Mmmm, don’t you worry about that!” She gently tapped the tip of his nose, eyes scrunching up in amusement. 

“What’s a fire lily?” Toph cut in.

“Oh!” Ty jumped in front of Toph on the bed, grabbing her hands in her own. “It’s this beautiful red flower that blooms only for a couple of weeks in the Fire Nation. The festival celebrates the beginning of the bloom and the flowers are highly regarded back home as they’re a symbol of passion and love. It’s every Fire Nation girl's dream to receive a bouquet of fire lilies.” There were practically hearts in her eyes as she swooned. 

He rolled his own. 

“Is there gonna be games at this festival?” Toph raised a brow. 

“Of course! And lots of food and wine.” Ty turned her head towards Katara. “We have to buy some robes to dress up!” 

“Okay Stretch calm down, but count me in. Those suckers won’t know what hit ‘em.” Toph slammed her fist into her hand. 

“Ty Lee and I are going to look for some outfits, we bought some bao for you to munch on! Don’t wait up!” 

He ate some buns with Toph before falling into bed waiting for Katara to come back. Once he felt her slip under the blanket he turned to face her back and lazily draped an arm around her waist. 

“You guys are gonna be the death of me.”

“Oh hush.” Her hand rested atop his arm, fingers drawing delicate shapes. “Why are you still awake?”

“Couldn’t sleep without you here.” He mumbled into her hair before drifting into a deep sleep. 

When Zuko awoke he was surprised to see his bed empty and the sun already high in the sky. After the sleepless nights on the road his body finally seemed to give him a break. He quickly got up noticing his vacant room. After stuffing a leftover bao in his mouth he headed over to the next door room and knocked on Ty Lee and Toph’s door hoping to find the girls. 

“Come in!” Ty shouted from inside the room.

He walked in to find a disarray of clothing and makeup strewn about the floor and vanity. Ty Lee stood behind the earthbender securing her short hair into an intricate updo pinned with golden clips. Toph was wearing a beautiful loose floor length qipao dress with a high collar. It was in traditional Fire Nation red, lined with gold threading and cinched in under her bust with a deep green sash. Ty looked gorgeous in a cropped qipao style top with loose bell sleeves that almost trailed to her knees. The lining along the center clasps were stitched in black thread. She paired it with a floor length light red skirt that matched the color of her top. Overlaid atop the skirt around her hips was a sheer light green fabric that cinched in the middle. Her hair was loose and tied half up with a golden clip. 

“You both look nice.”

“Aww thanks Zuko, once Katara’s out you can use our bathroom to change into the robes we bought you!”

It made him happy to see the genuine smile on Ty’s face, contrasting the pout on Toph’s from having to put up with the pampering. He watched as the older girl fussed over the younger by gently brushing minimal makeup across her eyes and cheeks. It reminded him of watching his mom get Azula ready for the festival when they were younger, the fire lilies always brought a smile to his mother’s face. He was brought out of his melancholic feeling when Katara burst through the bathroom door and his mouth went dry. 

“Gosh Ty Lee I don’t know how you Fire Nation girls deal with all this fuss, your clothes are so hard to figure out. OH! Zuko!” Her eyes widened as she noticed his trail over her frame. 

She was wearing a cropped red halter top that covered her neck with delicate gold lining. Her ankle length skirt was draped with thin layers of dark green and dark red fabric. A gold cuff was wrapped around her upper arm, along with several bangles gracing her wrists. She had half her hair up in a bun with loose pieces framing her face and golden beads threaded throughout her crown. Matching beads were threaded through a thin belt surrounding her hips. And finally a translucent golden shawl rested at her elbows completing the look. 

“Uh— uh you look nice! Great I— I mean you look great. More than great you look er, awesome.”

 _Awesome. You fucking idiot._

Her cheeks lightly blushed and Toph began cackling like she just heard the funniest joke in her life. 

“Uh thanks! I think. Your clothes are in the bag that I left in there if you want to get dressed in the bathroom where I left the bag!” She was mumbling over her words.

“Yeah I’ll go do that.”

He walked into the bathroom and slapped his palm onto his forehead. Why was he acting like such an idiot around his friend? He didn’t have time for this. Katara was his best friend who just happened to be a pretty girl. Nothing weird about that. He threw on his formal changsan, the body was a deep red, sleeves a brownish green, and the high collar was threaded in gold with matching embroidery on the bottom half. It paired nicely with his earth brown pants. They had also included a beaded gold necklace that was normally worn during festivals. He adjusted his hair and stepped back into the room. 

“You look great Sparky!”

“Thanks Toph, I— why do you do that.”

He shook his head and sat next to the troublemaker while watching Ty Lee finish applying kohl to Katara’s eyes. The acrobat quickly glanced over. “You do look nice Zuko, Katara picked out such a nice outfit for you.” 

“Thanks Ty.”

Katara stood up, turning to face him and let her eyes trail along his frame. He felt his cheeks heating under the close scrutiny. 

“Come sit,” She nudged her head at the small stool she had just sat at, “one more thing and we’ll be ready to go.”

He sat in front of her as she pulled out a small compact with powder that vaguely resembled his skin tone. His eyes widened as he realized what she was going to do.

“What is that?”

“Makeup, now don’t move so we can disguise your scar!”

She grabbed his chin to prevent him from squirming away and began lightly dabbing at the edges of his scar. After several moments she pulled back looking seemingly proud of herself before shoving a small mirror into his hands. Blinking at his reflection he was fairly impressed, the tissue damage was still present, but the makeup disguised the signature colors that normally graced his features. He smirked before looking up at Katara who was still studying his face. 

“Now can we get this over with.”

He was met with a playful shove to his shoulder and a frown from the waterbender. It was well past lunchtime when they finally set out for the main avenue in the middle of the city that would host the festival. They let their noses lead the way to the food stalls. The road had booths surrounding the length and fire lilies decorating every corner of the street. Bouquets were placed in window sills, girls wore crowns and singular flowers in their hair, men were buying as many as they could carry from vendors, and wreaths were hung on every other stall. Beaded golden garlands were strung above the street glistening in the sun. 

“Wow.” he looked over to see Katara’s eyes widened in awe and mouth agape. 

Ty Lee had a dreamy glean in her eye and he felt his own eyes threatening to shed a tear. It felt like _home_. Home when his mom would hold his and Azula’s hand and run through the streets of Caldera before the formal parties held at night in the palace. When they would blend with the common folk making themselves sick with too many fire gummies and fire flakes. When his mom would make him buy Azula flowers because she insisted she deserved presents on _his_ birthday too. Before nightfall when they had to slip back into the palace to put on their formal robes and be on their best behavior in front of the noble families at the royal fire lily birthday celebration.

_I miss you mom._

He felt a cold hand clasp his own and begin to drag him towards the food stands. Ty Lee grabbed Toph’s following along and his ears filled with joyous giggling from the older girls. They stopped at a booth selling assorted roast meats served on a stick. Katara’s eyes lit up as she asked him to explain what everything was. He found himself enamored at the childlike wonder she had towards something he found so familiar. It was also surprising that they had a mixture of Earth Kingdom meats as well as Fire Nation. They settled on sharing chicken, squid, and komodo sausage skewers. The waterbender kept raving about trying the ‘exotic’ food which made him chuckle. 

“Okay me and Stretch are gonna go play some games, you kids behave!” Toph winked with a huge grin before pulling a clueless Ty Lee along with her.

Katara let out a frustrated sigh beside him shaking her head with a disapproving frown on her face. 

“I swear we can’t take her anywhere without her finding trouble!”

“She’s going to do what she wants anyways. Let’s just enjoy the festival, c’mon.” 

He let Katara yank him from vendor to vendor answering all her questions and letting her try every treat that lit up her eyes. 

“Those are specially molded fire gummies made to resemble fire lilies.” He pointed at the small red candies.

She bought 5 bags as a souvenir, despite his insistence that they’re much too spicy for her taste buds. 

The sun was beginning to set and the faint golden glow complimented the contagious smile on her face as lanterns began to light up around the city. Zuko felt relieved that this time he didn’t have to return to the palace once the sun was gone. 

_______

After going through nearly every food stall Katara had exhausted her taste buds. She felt giddy with all of the excitement bustling throughout the streets. Now that night descended more adults began to fill the festival with their lovers. Zuko explained that this holiday was a significant celebration for love back home.

Being away from her responsibilities she felt like taking some risks. Zuko followed her over to a beverage stand and she ordered them both plum wines. He looked shocked at her abnormal behavior.

“What! I can have fun too ya know.” She playfully bit back leaning in closer. 

He laughed as they both grabbed their glasses leaning against the countertop. 

“Cheers to the birthday boy and my best friend.” Her eyes crinkled as she softly smiled.

They clinked glasses and chugged, repeating this process for a few more rounds.

“I know this probably isn’t how you wanted to spend your birthday, but I have to admit I’m having a lot of fun.” Her confession brought warmth to her already darkening cheeks as she bit her lip. 

“I couldn’t think of a better way to spend it. Thank you for today.” He was smiling, and it reached his eyes. It warmed her heart in a way that felt unfamiliar.

“Well, nights not over yet!” She teased. 

They were interrupted by a middle aged woman with a basket in her arms who was going around handing small bowls to all the women. She handed one to Katara and flashed her a warm smile before speaking.

“Wishing you blessings during the time of the fire lilies. What a beautiful young woman.”

“Thank you.” Katara beamed and turned to see Zuko’s cheeks bright red. 

She peeked into the bowl and noticed juicy pomegranate seeds filling it to the brim. As she threw some into her mouth she couldn't understand what was causing him discomfort. 

“What’s wrong?”

“Oh! Uh, nothing! Just the pomegranate seeds they’re uh, given to women during the festival as a wish for, er good fertility.” He winced.

_Oh. Oh!_

She turned away from him and downed another glass of plum wine hastily asking for a refill.

“You don’t think she thought we—“

“No! Nope! Not at all!” He finished his glass and chugged the refill immediately. 

“Uh, we should uh, walk around some more!”

“Yup! Sounds great!” 

Zuko tossed a couple silver coins on the countertop and she avoided his gaze as they started walking through the crowd. The alcohol had her feeling euphoric despite the previous conversation. She grabbed Zuko’s hand to avoid losing each other and he led her to one of the flower vendors. Zuko was looking pensively over the single stalks and crown arrangements as she leaned over to gently pick up one of the vibrant lilies. 

_They’re just flowers.  
When you’re a waterbender in a strange land, you do what you must to survive._

Hama’s voice echoed in her head as she stared at the red petals resting in her fingers. She tilted her head to the side and began to trace the edges with her fingertips.

_There’s water in places you’d never think about._

_Red._

_Blood._

Blinking she snapped out of her trance with the petals crushed within her fist. As she unrolled her fingers the pieces floated to the ground and she followed them with her eyes. 

“Katara. Are you okay?”

Her head snapped from her hand to the firebender’s concerned face. 

“Yeah, we should find Toph and Ty Lee.” 

“Okay.” He looked unconvinced, but followed after her keeping a close distance. 

Suddenly the crowd was _suffocating_ her. It’s like she could feel every heartbeat mocking her. 

_How dare you enjoy yourself at a Fire Nation festival with the fire prince._

_GET OUT OF MY HEAD HAMA._

Her hands were desperately clutching the sides of her head pulling her hair at the roots as she frantically searched for her friends. Her head was spinning and she was unsure if it was from the alcohol or delirium. There was too much red everywhere. 

_Red. Red. RED. BLOOD._

Her mind was screaming, or was that her mouth. Everything was blurring together and she couldn’t think straight. She heard Zuko speaking frantically and then beginning to argue. She saw a guard, but she wasn’t sure if it was a memory or reality. And she could just feel his blood coursing so _easily_. 

_Breathe._

_Inhale. 1-2-3-4._

_Exhale. 1-2-3-4._

It was Zuko’s calming voice filling her head now, urging her back to the present.

When she came back she took in the concerning sight in front of her. Zuko arguing with a very real guard about calming his _girlfriend_ down as he stood in front of her shielding her from onlookers. She gently touched his elbow and he whipped his head around his shoulders noticeably relaxing as he took in her calmer state. 

“Where did you say you’re from again kid? Not many people look like her in this town. Got any papers?” 

“Um, we don’t just carry those around with us sir.”

She held her breath clutching Zuko’s upper arm with a tight grip, waiting for the inevitable arrest. They should’ve never come to the festival. 

“Is there a problem here Chuma.”

Katara’s eyes drifted to the new female voice that grabbed her attention. Her eyes met a girl close to her own age with fair skin and large brown eyes. Her brown hair was tied into a high bun with blunt bangs. She wore a stunning floor length red dress that floated against her frame with billowed sleeves. Her waist was sharply accentuated with a deep green silk material that wrapped under her bust in a corset style. Whoever she was flustered the guard immediately as he bowed to her.

“No Miss Morishita! Just asking these kids for their papers.”

“And why would they need to present those at a festival that is open to the public.” Her voice matched the stern look on her face. 

“I— I just thought—“

“No, you didn’t think. Go take a break Chuma, and leave these kids alone to enjoy their date.” The look she gave him left no room for debate as he scurried off. She turned to look at the two of them softening her gaze.

“Excuse Chuma, sometimes the guards forget that this isn’t the Fire Nation and we don’t terrorize our citizens here just because of their mixed race. I’ll have to talk to my father about having some more nation equality trainings.”

“I’m sorry, we didn’t catch your name, I’m Lee and this is Ming.” Zuko was eyeing the girl curiously while wrapping his arm around her shoulders, bringing her close to his side.

“Oh where are my manners! My name is Kori, Kori Morishita. My father is the mayor of Yu Dao. I hope you’re enjoying your stay in the city.”

“How did you—“

“I know everyone here, and no one has blue eyes like her.” Her eyes quickly flashed over to Katara. “But don’t worry like I said everyone is welcome to visit. Now where were you both headed?”

“Uh we were actually looking for our friends, we aren’t quite sure where they are.” He replied sheepishly.

She smiled and beckoned for them to follow her. Katara felt uneasy being with such a highly regarded citizen of a Fire Nation colony. If this girl recognized any of them she probably wouldn’t be so accommodating. However as they made their way down the main road she couldn’t help but notice the warmth all the citizens had when greeting her, regardless of their heritage. Kori continued pointing out her favorite vendors and businesses as they went on their search. 

Finally Katara heard the familiar voice of the young earthbender shouting over the crowd. 

“THAT’S RIGHT! I WIN AGAIN. PAY UP LOSER!”

_Oh boy._

She glanced at Zuko before they both took off running towards the yells, Kori following close behind. They pushed their way through a small crowd to the clearing in the middle. Katara stilled upon taking in the sight of Toph pounding her chest with a sack of coins tied to each side of her waist. Ty Lee was next to her pumping her fists in the air, cheering her on. A distraught older man was sitting on the floor with a wooden crate in front of him. On top sat three cups one overturned to reveal a shell hidden beneath. 

Zuko was one step ahead of her walking up to Toph and grabbing her wrist to pull her from the crowd. He shouted for Ty Lee to follow and they gathered at a corner away from prying eyes. Kori looked amused with a slight crinkle at the corners of her eyes. 

“—can’t just steal everyone’s money!” Zuko was scolding Toph as she stood with her arms crossed blowing on her bangs.

Katara eyed Ty Lee as the acrobat giggled and hiccuped uncontrollably. She walked over to smell the air and was hit by the stench of alcohol. Narrowing her eyes she strode towards Toph and repeated the process, nose furrowing as she was hit with the same smell.

“You both REEK! Are you drunk!?”

“Oh lighten up Sugarqueen, I’m practically _fifteen_. Plus you’re one to talk! Plum wine huh?”

Katara’s cheeks heated up as she scoffed at her friend. 

“You gave her alcohol?! Ty I told you to watch her!” Zuko ran his hands through his hair in frustration.

“Well,” -hiccup- “Technically the boys bought it for us!” -hiccup- “They were sooooo nice!”

She rolled her eyes and studied her friends more closely to take in the fire lilies decorating both of their heads. Toph had a couple weaved throughout her braided updo and Ty had a crown placed atop her head. _What the hell had those girls gotten up to!_

“Whatever, we all got a little drunk, you know what sounds good right now? Food! Dinner’s on me!” Toph patted the sack on the left side of her waist. She started walking away before turning her head sharply in the direction of Kori.

“Hey, who’s the new girl Sparky?”

“That’s Kori, the _mayor’s_ daughter. She helped us find you _Sheng_.”

“Nice to meet you both, glad to see you’re enjoying the city. Not to intrude, but if you don’t mind me tagging along I know a great restaurant for some noodles and hot pot.” She smiled warmly at the group. 

“Our own personal tour guide! I think I love this town! Lead the way.” Toph hooked arms with the new addition and they all followed.

_______

Toph was happy to have Kori guide her along as the liquor was making her senses blurry. It was even better that she was out of Katara’s line of fire, she could hear her scolding Ty Lee about drinking so much and firing off questions about what they had been up to.

After today she had officially decided that Stretch wasn’t all that bad to have as company. They spent hours scamming unsuspecting booths betting higher and higher amounts of money until they wiped half of them clean. The whole time Ty had cheered her on and distracted the losers by flirting with them. The minute they were out of earshot they would both die of laughter. Halfway through the night a bunch of boys came up and began flirting their asses off with their heart rates thumping like rabid rabbits. Toph was going to tell them to fuck off, but Stretch insisted she play along in order to get some fun out of them. At first she had no idea what that meant, but by the time the third glass of Baijiu scorched down her throat without them spending a single coin she began to think this woman was a mad genius. 

She had never had this much fun in her entire life. There was the stiff life back home at the estate and then the demanding life that happened after. Training and being on the run. She had thought that was fun, but this was pure joy! After they were buzzing with alcohol the boys had bought them _both_ fire lilies. Granted Toph couldn’t really understand the beauty of what they looked like, but she knew it was a big deal. They had woven some through her hair and complimented the way she looked, and that made her feel giddy. She felt feminine and adored. And this was new. 

Once they ditched the losers they went back to running around to heckle some more betting booths and they spent the night laughing and shouting so much their stomachs hurt and throats were sore.

She was jarred out of her reverie by Kori’s voice. 

“And we’re here! This is Tasty’s, it’s a family favorite for their fusion cuisine.”

They all settled into a round table and Kori called a server over. Everyone allowed her to order for the table, but before the waiter left Toph wanted to add one last thing.

“Excuse me, any chance you have Dan Dan noodles?”

“Yes we do!”

“Great, can you bring a bowl out for the birthday boy!”

“Toph what are Dan Dan noodles?” Zuko asked from across the table.

“They’re an Earth Kingdom specialty! They’re spiced with this intense savory flavor and it’s traditional to eat noodles on your birthday back home. I used to have these every year.”

“Why noodles?”

Toph opened her mouth to speak, but was cut off by the mayor’s daughter.

“Noodles are a symbol of longevity, eating them on your birthday is believed to bring you a long life.” There was a smile in her voice as she spoke. 

“Yeah… how did you know that?” Toph furrowed her brow concentrating on detecting any sign that Kori was lying. 

“My mother is from the Earth Kingdom.” 

_Truth._

“How can that be, isn’t your father the mayor?” Zuko asked.

“Yes he is.”

_Truth._

“I thought the colonies required the mayor to be of Fire Nation descent?” He continued his questioning.

“They do. My father is Fire Nation and my mother is Earth Kingdom.”

_Still true. Huh._

Before they could continue their interrogation the dishes were brought to their table. Kori quickly explained the contents of the two pots. One contained Shabu Shabu, a more mild broth that suited her and Katara’s taste palette. The second was Chongqing hotpot that was heavily flavored with a numbing spice that was sure to please Ty and Zuko’s Fire Nation tastes. She explained how to eat it and Toph heard vegetables plopping into the broths. 

Ty Lee quickly served her some of the Shabu Shabu in a bowl with some meat and a side of rice. As she began to enjoy the umami flavors all intermingling on her tongue she heard Zuko slurping noodles into his mouth.

“Sheng this is amazing.”

“You’re welcome Sparky and happy birthday grandpa you sure are getting old!”

He started coughing from choking on his noodles and she cackled uncontrollably. 

“So Kori, I have to ask. What’s it like being from a mixed family?” Katara picked up the previous discussion.

“Hmm, well here in Yu Dao it’s not really a big deal! All citizens live as equals no matter what nation they’re from so we have a lot of mixed families. You can see the blending of cultures present all throughout our city, from the architecture to the clothing. Earthbenders are allowed to freely practice their bending alongside firebenders without any prosecution. We even have our guards go through specialized training that promotes nation equality.”

“Wow, that’s unbelievable.” Zuko's voice sounded faraway. 

“You can earthbend in this city?!” Toph exclaimed.

“I would hope so! If not me and my mom might get arrested.” Kori laughed.

“Wait. You’re an earthbender?!” She was sitting upright in her seat now, staring at where she assumed the other girl was sitting.

“Yeah I am.” She sounded proud.

“No way! How badass is that! The mayor’s daughter of a Fire Nation colony is an earthbender!”

“You flatter me, but the real badasses are the earthbenders that work with firebenders on the finest metalwork of all four nations. It’s amazing what they’ve been able to accomplish by combining their bending abilities.”

Her ears perked up at the mention of her favorite material. She turned towards Zuko with a mischievous grin.

“SPARKY! I know where I want to cash in on my favor!”

“Where?” He groaned out.

“I want to see the metalwork!”

“I can take you guys to Chen’s Shop tomorrow morning if you’d like?” Her new earthbending friend chimed in.

“Yes! Did I mention how much I LOVE this town?”

Toph was buzzing as they finished dinner up, looking forward to getting her hands on some new material. They wished Kori goodbye and walked back to the inn. Zuko’s birthday might just be one of her new favorite holidays. 

_______

Toph and Ty Lee wished him a happy birthday once more before heading to their room. Katara helped him wipe the makeup off his face before going to wash up. He sat on the chair in the corner of the room unable to sleep before talking to Katara about all the things running through his mind. After she was done he went to clean up knowing she would wait up. 

When he left the bathroom she was sitting brushing her hair out in front of the vanity. He sat on the bed and called her over to join him. Now that the excitement of being back with their friends had worn off she had that distant look in her eyes again and it was obvious something was eating at her mind ever since her episode at the festival. She crawled next to him and nervously played with her hands in her lap, teeth nibbling at her bottom lip. He reached over to place a supporting hand over hers and gently squeezed to let her know she could begin whenever she felt ready. A few minutes passed before it began to pour out.

“Remember Hama.” She was lightly playing with his hand, twisting each of his fingers with her thumb and index finger.

“The woman who forced you to learn to bloodbend?” His voice was stern which contrasted her meek one. 

“Y—yes.” Her hand stilled. “When she taught me how to manipulate water from any life source, we practiced on fire lilies.”

“Kat—”

“She taught me how to suck all the water out of them until they withered down to nothing but dead remnants.” He reached over to wipe the tears streaming down her cheeks. 

“I thought I’d be f—fine, but then when I saw the lily in my hands.” Her lower lip quivered. “I-it’s like I can hear her in my head. And then the blood just got s-so loud again Zuko. I couldn’t even breathe.” 

Her cries turned into full blown sobs. He leaned over and pulled her into his chest, rocking her back and forth while stroking her hair gently. 

“I’m so sorry Katara. I wish I could make it stop. I’ve always told you I will always be here for you, no judgement.”

“I-I know. Thank you, I’m s-sorry for ruining your birthday.”

He let out a low chuckle and pulled back to look her in the eyes as she looked up from his chest.

“Kat, this was the best birthday I’ve ever had. For once I didn’t have to go back home at night and be miserable sitting around a bunch of stuffy old nobles. You allowing me to be there for you could never ruin a day that _you_ made so great.” 

He meant every word. And maybe it had to do with the remaining alcohol in his system giving him the courage to be so sentimental with his friend. Or maybe it was her vulnerability in trusting him that made him want to share a little more. They were staring for a couple seconds too long when he heard her start to giggle gripping onto his tunic a bit harder. 

“Kat? That’s a new one.”

“Um, sorry it just slipped out.” He rubbed the back of his neck and looked away.

“Don’t be, I like it.” He glanced back down at her still staring up into his eyes. His cheeks were burning and he needed to switch the subject before he further embarrassed himself. 

“What did you think about Kori?” They adjusted to him laying on his back with her propping her chin on his chest.

“Hmm, I can’t figure her out. Either she’s genuinely that nice or she’s keeping tabs on us. Whichever it is she’s got a crazy backstory. I almost couldn't believe it.”

He hummed in response waiting for her to continue.

“But honestly all of Yu Dao has been a shock. It’s almost like I can see a glimmer of what the world could have been. All four nations living together in not only harmony, but unity. I always thought we had to live distinct from each other to preserve our traditions, but maybe they can coexist.” He was amazed at how strong her voice sounded. As if she was ready to start putting this plan into action this very second. His hand absentmindedly reached over to play with the hair framing her face. 

“It’s strange, I was always taught that the idea of unity was too idealistic. Instead they stressed power, dominance, and enforcing only our own beliefs on the rest of the world. As if we were helping improve their lives for some reason. For the first time today I saw tangible proof that they were always wrong, peace will be achieved through realizing we all have things we can share with each other. True progress will happen when we open ourselves up to understanding and sharing our knowledge with each other, not enforcing one way of life onto the world.” 

She was grinning ear-to-ear listening to his ramblings. 

“I can’t wait to tell Aang about this place! I’m sure he’ll love the whole idea of it.”

He squeezed her wrist to let her know he was excited as well. 

“Yeah, I can’t wait to share all these new ideas with the generals. I’m itching to start planning out our next move.”

She reached her hand up to bat away some hair that was slipping into his eyes with a faint smile on her lips. 

“Well whatever it is, I can’t wait. We’re gonna fix this mess Zuko. Even if it took us a little longer than originally planned.”

He smiled and pulled her fully on top of him, tucking her head under his chin, while extinguishing the candles in their room. She wrapped an arm around his waist and gently rubbed circles into his back while he ran his fingers through the ends of her hair. He fell asleep to her humming a Water Tribe tune into his chest.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Meta Bits:  
> There's literally so much I could say. There's a lot of cultural tidbits I threw into this chapter and most of it is based off real life traditions or Avatar beliefs that I did research for. A lot of love was poured into this chapter <3 (any questions feel free to ask and I'll clear up) quick ones... changsan = mens qipao, noodles are a Chinese tradition for longevity that they do eat for bdays, and pomegranate is a symbol of fertility in many eastern cultures. Also can you tell I like food... I can't resist writing about it LOL.
> 
> zuko thinking about childhood makes me sad but happy. I like to think Ursa tried to do things away from Ozai's prying eyes. Also Zuko is literally infatuated with Katara as he should be. (and yes he was gonna get her a fire lily ok) Katara.... ): my strong girl. Ugh I know that blood bending stuff fucked with her because she views it as so evil at this point. Hama's words were taken from Canon because it fit. 
> 
> Kori Morishita.... Ooooo. Okay. So I really like her character in the comics, I wanted to do something fun with her and make her a bad bitch and standing up for anyone the soldiers are tryna bully. She was a big character in The promise, and low-key a badass. The reveal of her heritage was pretty fun to write *eyebrow wiggles*
> 
> I LOVE TOPH AND TY LEE, LITERALLY THE SCENE OF THEM IN THE CROWD WAS MY FAVORITE THING. THEY BOTH BE PLAYING THEIR TALENTS TO THEIR ADVANTAGE AND TY LEE IS TEACHING TOPH THE WAYS OF SCAMMING BY BEING A WOMAN AND WE STAN.
> 
> have a good weekend, see ya Monday (;


	9. Reality

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy Monday (:
> 
> Um yeah, I was planning for this to be fluff but it just kind of merged and took a mind of its own ... sorry the happy chapters are pretty much over, don't hate me!

Toph stretched as she followed Zuko to the spot they had agreed to meet up with Kori. She felt groggy from waking up so early, but for once she didn’t complain due to her budding excitement. Zuko shoved a sweet bun in her hand that he bought from a vendor on the walk over. They waited leaning against the walls while they munched on breakfast. There was a familiar pair of footsteps approaching and she perked up elbowing Zuko’s ribs. 

“Good to see you again!”

She yawned while listening to them discuss the plans for the day. They were going to Old Chen’s infamous Blacksmith Shop, and after planned on relaxing at her favorite tea shop. Toph could already tell Zuko was buzzing about being able to try some new fusion blends. He was turning more into his uncle with every passing year. She tuned out most of their chatter, he was busy asking all about the dynamics of their town and talking politics. _Yawn_.

Once they finally reached the blacksmith Toph could sense all the metal surrounding her. The particles within were much finer than normal, which she was sure would provide a smoother bend. The sizzle of fire tickled her nostrils simultaneously with the constantly clanging of metal on metal. She listened as Zuko described to her what they were doing. 

“The earthbender is using a metal hammer to pound a piece of precious metal atop another metal piece shaped with a flattop. While he does that the firebender is continuously streaming a flame, causing the precious metal to glow slightly red. They are shaping it into a thin material, similar to what is used for a sword.”

She hummed to acknowledge what he said while thinking about how much easier this would be if they just used a metalbender. They stood there for a while and Toph enjoyed tracking the particles as they flattened into a malleable sheet. By the time they left she had convinced Zuko to purchase a large sheet of platinum to deliver to their inn and she was excited to play around with it later that night. 

They settled into the cushions at the tea shop and Zuko ordered a pot of white jasmine tea with a peach infusion. He handed her a warm cup and placed a pastry in front of her before ruffling her hair. She shook off his hand and dove into her treats. 

“So, what are your real names?” Toph could hear the smile on Kori's face.

“What?! Sheng and Lee _are_ our real names.” Zuko choked out.

“You called the little one next to you ‘Toph’ last night. I won’t rat you out, I’m just curious. You look a lot like a certain prince…” She drawled. 

_Well fuck._

“It seems like you already know so why bother asking.” His voice was harsh.

“You’re just as hot-headed as they say aren't you?” Kori was leaning casually resting her chin on her palm, the other hand playing with the rim of her cup. “Look. Let’s cut the small chat. I know who you are _Prince Zuko_ , but I’m not turning you and your friends in. Rather I have a little proposition that might be of interest to you.”

The firebender released a long breath and his voice was tight. 

“I’m listening.”

“See you and I, we aren’t so different. We both love the Fire Nation. And we both want Ozai gone.”

“Why would you want Ozai gone?” Toph finally cut in.

“Why wouldn’t I? According to his views of the world my mother will never be viewed as less than dirt. If he still had control of this colony, I wouldn’t even exist. More power is going to destroy what my father has worked so hard to build.”

“And how can you help us?”

“Well I’ve heard of a resistance through some friends, let’s just say I’m sure their forces would be a lot stronger using weaponry conducted of the same metal the Fire Nation Army uses.” 

“What’s in it for you.” Sparky hesitantly asked.

“Nothing. Except a promise. When you take that throne you promise to fight for the colonies to self-govern. We aren’t Fire Nation and we aren’t Earth Kingdom. I want your word. On _Agni_.”

“Deal. _Or Agni strike me down_.”

________

The palms of her hands rubbed at her eyes as she yawned deeply listening to Kori wish goodbye to their group. Normally Ty Lee would shy away from the rude gesture, but she stayed up almost all night helping dictate to Toph how to craft her sheet of metal into inconspicuous accessories. The premium platinum was more malleable and lighter in weight, according to Zuko. Now Toph donned a shiny headband that rested right behind her bangs, along with cuffs that covered her entire forearms, shin coverings, and an intricate layered shoulder armor with raised details adorning the neck that could easily be removed during combat. Not wanting to waste any of the precious material, she used the remaining to adorn Ty Lee. She had beautiful metal hair pins threaded throughout her bun, along with a chunky necklace, and smaller metal cuffs.

They left Yu Dao and began their trek towards the Su Oku River. From there Katara used her waterbending to get them across to the side that led to Pohuai. As much as Ty Lee was excited to finally reach their destination, part of her yearned to stay in Yu Dao. It reminded her of a much better version of back home. 

She couldn’t help but compare running around with Toph to the festivals celebrated with her old friends. With the earthbender it felt like two equals feeding off each other's energy. With Mai and Azula she had always felt a judging eye and oftentimes had to hold back her excitement to fit in with the more esteemed nobles. Instead Toph dragged her into chaos along with going along with her silly plans to manipulate some boys into getting them drunk. Zuko had even cracked a couple of genuine smiles over his birthday dinner, something she hadn’t seen since they were children. 

Two days went by as they approached Shupan Port. They planned to spend the night in one of the inn’s of the seedy town. The rest of the group had visited here before the comet to get in touch with one of Zuko’s accomplices to find the Avatar. Once arriving at the outskirts of the town, she sat with Katara and Toph as Zuko insisted it was safest from him to ask around for the nearest lodging. The other two girls were too tired to argue and slumped back to back waiting for him to return. Ty Lee, still full of energy, bounded towards the kiosk stand to look over news from the capital figuring any information could be useful to her new group. 

Her smile slowly faded as she recognized some of the faces decorating the wanted posters plastered all over the board. Greeting her were painted mugshots of the entire team of kids she once viewed as enemies. Images of Katara, Zuko, Toph, the waterbenders brother, his girlfriend, and the Avatar from before the war. In the corner were smaller posters of a thief donning a blue mask, a woman with wild curly hair, and a man with half his face covered only showing a pair of striking steel grey eyes. She felt her breath coming out in ragged gasps as she read the notices written out next to each image. Toph, Sokka, and Suki were wanted for acts of violence resulting in the murder and destruction of an entire fleet of Fire Nation airships with fifty gold pieces on each head, set for immediate execution. The Avatar had a decree issued by the proclaimed Phoenix King for acts of high treason against his reign, wanted alive. But it was the last set that nearly caused her to faint.

Katara and Zuko’s were the largest and placed at the top of the board with an official notice from the royal palace.

_From the Royal Family of Agni under the rule of Firelord Azula:  
Katara of the Southern Water Tribe &  
Zuko former Crown Prince of the Fire Nation  
Are officially declared dangerous fugitives and wanted for their crimes against the reigning Firelord committed on the holy day of Sozin’s Comet.  
The waterbender committed acts of witchcraft against the crown with the assistance of the former Crown Prince.  
A reward of 500 gold pieces on each head.  
Wanted alive for questioning.  
Let it be known anyone who harbors these criminals will be set to immediate execution as such an act will be considered treason. _

She reached her shaking fingers out and began to hastily tear each piece of parchment from its staples. Tears were searing her face as they dripped onto the pile that was growing as she finished clearing the entire kiosk.

 _No. No. No.  
Azula couldn’t. She wouldn’t. _  
She did.

Ty Lee wanted to scream. She felt like she would never escape the princess’ claws that were firmly latched to her neck. Drowning her. 

Her fingers began frantically flipping through the pages as her eyes scanned over and over again the words that were causing her heart to beat erratically. 

_They want Toph dead.  
Toph.  
Who cries in my arms every night because she misses her friends.  
She’s just a child. _

_Katara sounds like a monster.  
The girl who seems to hold us altogether.  
The girl who showed me compassion._

_Azula wants to kill her brother.  
Her brother who played with us when we were just children in the royal gardens.  
My friend who made my favorite dish just to give me good news.  
Zuko, my only family left._

_Where is the Azula I knew.  
Where is the Azula I loved?  
Did she ever exist?  
Did she even know papaya salad was my favorite?_

_I can’t let her find them.  
They helped save me.  
We’ve made so many memories. Good ones.  
They’re my… friends.  
My real friends._

Somehow her feet stumbled back over to Toph and Katara and the two of them were looking at her with creased brows when she came back to the present. When Katara’s mouth opened to speak she shoved the stack into her arms.

“We need to leave. Now.” The words came out shaky.

“What’s wrong Stretch, you sound like you just saw a ghost.”

Her words caught in her throat as Katara’s eyes widened as she shuffled through the posters. 

“Were these all of them.” The waterbender spoke through gritted teeth.

“Yes. I took them all down.” Her hands were shaking. “This is bad Katara. Really bad. We need to get Zuko and get out of here.”

“One of you tell me what the hell is going on,” Toph stomped her foot onto the ground, “right now!” 

“Toph there’s… a bunch of wanted posters with our faces on it. Bounties on each of our heads.” Katara’s eyes stayed firm on the drawing of herself.

The young girl paled.

“We need to find Zuko, right now.” Katara finished.

Ty Lee watched as the blue eyes of her friend began to look around in terror as she gathered all of the paper close to her chest. Ty grabbed Toph’s hand and began to drag her to follow the waterbender. Katara quickly turned around and slammed into Zuko’s chest. He grabbed her wrists studying her frantic features with concern growing on his own.

“What happened?”

Her friend’s breath was ragged, mirroring her own. The pile was shoved into Zuko’s hands and he slowly picked through each parchment, his jaw clenching.

“Where did you get these.” He whispered.

“I found them at the announcement kiosk. I grabbed all of them. What are we going to do?” Ty answered in a tense voice as she stepped closer to the two, Toph clutching her arm. 

He took a deep breath as he pinched his nose with his fingertips.

“Nothing. We can’t do anything right now. If these are here in Shupan that means they’ve been distributed everywhere. We stay here tonight and get one last night of rest in, we won’t be able to stop in any other towns until we reach the base, it’s too dangerous now. Shupan has travelers coming through from all over so we won’t stand out. We barely look like these pictures thanks to our disguises. If we need to go out we do it in pairs. All of us together will bring attention. Now follow me, keep your heads down, and stay close.”

They all glanced at each other and nodded their heads in agreement. He hurriedly walked them through the town to a dingy inn and they shuffled into a single shared room. It would be safer to sleep together from now on. The mattresses were pushed together on the floor and Ty Lee stayed behind with Toph while the other two went into town to grab some dinner for them. 

“Stretch.”

“Yeah Toph?”

“Can you brush my hair?” Her voice came out meek.

Ty Lee grabbed her comb before settling behind the small girl. Whenever she needed someone she would seek comfort through small gestures rather than asking. Over the weeks Ty had learned to not question her, but rather just be there for her to lean on. She gently ran her fingers through her short hair and began to brush out any tangles that had formed. It was telling that the earthbender had let these walls down with her, Ty had quickly observed she wasn’t much for touching or affection. 

“D-Do you think we’re gonna be okay?”

Startled by the sudden question, she gently removed her fingers from her locks and rested a reassuring hand on her shoulder. 

“None of us are going to let anything happen to each other.”

“You’re not lying.”

“No, I’m not.” Her voice was firm. 

In that moment Ty Lee realized she would do anything to protect these people who had become her friends over the last two months together. The princess she had once fallen in love with no longer existed, instead a deranged ruler had taken her place. It was time for her to let go. 

________

As they walked through the dirty streets Katara found herself drawing closer to Zuko’s side. In all her travels, she had never quite seen a place so daunting. There were men leering at her from the dark corners, eyes glinting with primal lust and need. Gamblers were sitting on low crates and makeshift tables were littered with coins and dice. People wandered around holding out empty cups for money while the reek of alcohol lingered on their breath. Several fights were heard from the alleys and she saw the sheen of steel weapons tucked in the waistbands of passersby. Scantily dressed young women were gushing over much older men before being led off after an exchange of money traded hands. One had even approached Zuko tracing his upper arm with her fingertips before he nudged her off, hastily walking away dragging Katara along with him. 

As they trailed through the streets looking for a decent place to get dinner he gently rested his hand on the small of her back, scowling at anyone looking her way. They finally found some street food that looked safe enough to eat. Zuko ordered roasted sweet potatoes and satay skewers with a special peanut sauce that he promised was delicious. She took one of the small paper parcels in her hands as they began the walk back to the inn. 

As they walked they chatted about things they were looking forward to in the upcoming weeks, careful to avoid any information that could link them to those wanted posters. She was so engrossed in their conversation she didn’t take in the young man approaching them calling out her name. It was only when they were within arms reach that she finally heard a familiar voice that caused her heart to drop. 

“Katara!”

The parcel slipped from her fingers as she took in the familiar icy blue eyes and chocolate brown hair.

“K—Kai?”

He broke into a cheeky grin which turned into relief when he noticed Zuko standing next to her.

“General Zuko.” He bowed low as a sign of respect to which Zuko returned a sharp nod.

“Good to see you Kai. But here we go by Ming and Lee.” He smirked and reached out his arm to give a formal Water Tribe greeting.

Katara felt tears brimming in her eyes as she took in the physical presence of one of her best friends. 

Back when she had trained in the Northern Tribe when she was only fourteen Kai had been one of the only male waterbenders who didn’t disregard her just because of her gender. He had approached her one day after training and told her how he admired her tenacity. Unlike most men up North, Kai didn’t agree with the segregated training. His older sister had been forced to learn in the healing huts and had wanted desperately to fight. She ended up in an unhappy arranged marriage and it killed him to watch his once strong-willed sister turn into a doormat for her husband. He wanted to do everything in his power to help Katara reach her full potential to make sure she never lost that spark.

They spent hours training in the moonlight, perfecting everything from simple forms to intense combat moves. He was a large reason she was able to improve so quickly in the couple of months they stayed there. Throughout her time there, their relationship grew and they became inseparable. They would go seaweed collecting, sneak out to hunt, or he would let Katara practice healing on his injuries(usually inflicted by her) during off-training days. 

Her fifteenth birthday was celebrated in the North that late winter. He had taken her to see the northern spirits that danced across the sky in beautiful greens and blues. That night she received her first kiss. Their romantic relationship had always remained a brief innocent young love. She held those memories close to her heart and was grateful he showed her real trust before Jet had broken it. After she left the North they kept in contact through the years and he became a part of her family. Once he joined the resistance they picked up where they left off as friends, they had both grown into different people but would always have an amicable love for each other. 

She threw herself into his arms gaining a few strange looks from individuals walking by. Before gaining any more attention she pulled away, Zuko handed her the parcel he picked up from the floor. 

“What are you doing here?” She asked.

“Looking for you. We thought you were dead.” His voice sounded tired. 

“We? So… Sokka, Aang, Suki. They’re alive?” Her eyes were wide and she was leaning towards him. 

“Very much. Is Toph, uh, with you both?” His voice was strained with emotion.

“Yeah. She’s waiting for us at the inn. We’re trying to keep a low profile.” Zuko cut in.

“Hmm makes sense. Of all the places for me to finally find you both.”

“Kai, where’s my brother? Did they manage to take the stronghold? Why are you here alone? When ca—”

Kai cut her off, glancing around.

“Look, we have a lot to talk about, but not here. Meet me at the tavern an hour after dusk. I’ll be sitting at one of the booths.”

Zuko furrowed his brows, but gave a sharp nod. Kai left them standing there in disbelief. She grabbed Zuko’s hand pulling him in a rush towards the inn. They burst through the door startling Toph and Ty Lee. 

“Toph we just ran into Kai! Can you believe it! He’s here! Looking for us!” Her cheeks hurt from smiling and she unwrapped both bundles to lay out the spread on the floor between all of them. 

“Slow down Sweetness. What do you mean Kai’s _here_?” 

“She means we just ran into him.” Zuko leaned against the door with his arms crossed. “That’s all we really know he wants us to meet him at the tavern after dark. He said we have a lot to talk about.” 

Toph huffed and dipped a skewer into sauce before stuffing the meat into her mouth, talking with her cheeks puffed. “Okay… that’s kind of weird.”

“That’s what I thought too.” He mumbled as he stroked his thumb over his upper lip.

“What's wrong with you guys!? This is great news. We’re going to be able to see our friends again soon. Isn’t this what we all wanted?” Katara frowned. 

“Don’t get me wrong Katara, I’m overjoyed, but something tells me things aren’t about to be that simple.” 

“Zuko! This isn’t the time to be negative! Now come over here and eat with us so we can be on time!” She grabbed a sweet potato and gently peeled the skin back taking a bite of the warm flesh. 

He settled beside her, but his face remained in a scowl. 

“Sorry, um who’s Kai?” Ty Lee chimed in.

“Oh! He’s from the Northern Water Tribe. He’s practically family and works under the resistance.” Katara reached over for a skewer.

Ty Lee played with her hands.

“So should I uh, come with you guys?”

Everyone remained quiet as they thought over her question. Zuko as usual took the lead with a decision. 

“I don’t know Ty, we should see what he says first. Once we’re sure we are headed to the same base Aang is stationed we can tell them about you. Besides, Toph you need to stay here. You’re not going to some sleazy bar.”

Katara giggled as she saw Toph’s jaw drop.

“That’s not fair Sparky! I got to drink in Yu Dao!”

“Yeah and you would’ve scammed the entire city if we hadn’t found you! You’re staying here Toph. It’s safer anyways.” His voice was firm and final.

“Whatever grandpa.”

Katara couldn’t stop laughing as she listened to the two bicker over the remainder of dinner. 

________

They slipped inside the tavern after dinner keeping a close eye on those lurking in the shadows. The entire place was buzzing with mainly men drinking, shouting, and gambling. He spotted Kai sitting at one of the booths in a dark corner and kept Katara close to him as they headed over. There were 3 small wooden cups and a bottle of imported sake waiting for them. After sliding into their seats Kai filled all the cups to the brim. He held his own up waiting for them to join. 

“To being reunited after two long months!” 

They clinked the cups together and all took a long swig. He saw Katara’s face twist and chuckled under his breath. 

“How have you been Kai? How is everyone? I’ve missed you all so much.”

Zuko intently watched Katara as she led the conversation. Seeing her face lit up in joy made his heart pull strangely. 

“Well I’ve been traveling for the past two months. I went searching through every village north of here on both sides of the river. I was about to start heading west after stopping here for the week.” He refilled all of the glasses. “Everyone else was alive and healthy before I left. They’re back at Pohuai.”

Zuko perked up at this, hand tightening around his cup.

“So the warriors were successful on their mission? The base is taken by the resistance?”

Kai’s shoulders tensed before addressing him, “Extremely successful General, they managed to secure the entire base before I took off. They had earthbenders and warriors stationed on the walls. Sokka did a fantastic job taking over in your absence in order to delegate each division.”

“No need for formalities here Kai, I’m just Zuko outside of base. Any word from Ba Sing Se?”

Kai relaxed his stiff posture.

“Retaken by the White Lotus. Your uncle and other high ranking members arrived at the base the night after the comet. All safe and accounted for.”

“That’s fantastic.” Zuko muttered. His heart clenched at the mention of his uncle's safety. He couldn't wait to reunite with his family. 

“We’re so excited to finally see everyone again. We’ve been safe so far, but today we found some wanted posters with all of our faces on them.” Katara began to bite her lower lip.

Kai’s eyes darkened and he poured them all another drink.

“Wanted posters? Those must be new.”

“Yeah. Declared by my sister and Ozai. There’s a bounty on all our heads. Katara and I’s are the highest. Azula must be furious she lost the Agni Kai.” Zuko downed his cup.

“So you won?” Kai smirked.

“Well, technically Azula disqualified herself when she tried to kill Katara.” The tribesman’s face paled. “I went down when I took the lightning bolt intended for her. Katara managed to get us out of there.”

“That’s our girl.” Kai nodded approvingly at Katara.

He glanced over and saw a look of pride exuding from the waterbender over the praise.

“Damn right. But I’m sure she’s not taking losing to a waterbender well. So the sooner we get back to base the safer it’ll be for all of us.” He was happy to boost Katara’s spirits and he glanced over to give her a tender smile.

Kai cleared his throat before chugging the contents of his cup. His hand was clenching the glass and his gaze was cast downward. 

“That’s what we need to talk about.”

Zuko exchanged a brief look of concern with Katara before she opened her mouth.

“I’m sorry, what do you mean by that?”

Their companion rubbed his hand over his forehead before dragging his fingers down to rub the bridge of his nose with his eyes squeezed shut. 

“Katara, you can’t get mad. You have to promise you’ll listen to everything, I’m here on your brother’s orders so please understand.”

“What. Is. It. Kai.” She gritted through her clenched teeth. 

“You have to realize they didn’t expect me to find you guys on this assignment. They called a meeting of all ranking members of the resistance and White Lotus. You were all announced dead in order to keep things focused on moving forward. That’s why I’m here alone, I volunteered to do a solo mission since I don’t hold an important stature in my division. The only people who know I’m even here are Sokka and Suki.”

“What about the Avatar?” Zuko swallowed the lump growing in his throat.

“The Avatar is the last person who can find out you are all alive.”

Katara began to shake beside him. He placed his hand over her knee, grounding her. 

“And why’s that _Kai_.” She spoke his name with venom dripping from her tongue.

“During that meeting some new intelligence was revealed by the Avatar involving what transpired during the year leading up to the comet that may have hindered his abilities. After finding out you were all dead he had an outburst and revealed that not only is he incapable of entering the Avatar state, but he tried to defeat Ozai through a new form of bending he learned in the month leading up to the comet.”

“Is that what he was doing with the red and white lights in the sky?” Her face was panicked.

“Yes, he called it energy bending. Claimed he learned it from a lion turtle. None of the members of the White Lotus have any previous knowledge that such a thing exists. They are wary of the use of an unknown power especially because the Avatar revealed he did not master it.”

“What do you mean he can’t enter the Avatar state?” Zuko was struggling to keep his voice even. The question caused Kai to squirm with discomfort.

“Well, uh, he h—hasn’t been able to enter the state for over a year since his visit with the guru. He erm, basically revealed he gave it up for his earthly attachment, which um, is K-Katara.”

He felt Katara shatter next to him, he wasn’t sure if she wanted comfort so he settled on filling her cup back up and nudging it towards her. She stared down at it for a moment before grabbing it to take a sip. He motioned for Kai to continue.

“Right, Aang needs to become a fully realized Avatar, the sake of the world rests on his shoulders to balance. The White Lotus has stepped in to take over his teachings and the Guru has been contacted to assist in finishing his spiritual training. Right now we all believe the best way to get him to let go of Katara is for him to believe you’re dead.”

“And how the hell are we supposed to do that!” Katara’s spat out. 

“Look I don’t know the logistics of it all! I have to contact Sokka and he’ll break everything down once he meets with you. All I know is, until the Avatar fixes this problem of his everyone has to believe you all died in that explosion. He mentioned setting up a safe house before I left.”

“You’re telling me I can’t see my family or go back to my tribe because Aang decided he was in love with me!?” Her yelling was covered by the loud drunks throughout the bar. 

“Katara! This is bigger than us. We all want to go home!” 

Zuko remained quiet in deep thought as he watched the two bicker back and forth. Katara slammed her hands on the table causing her sake to spill over. 

“ _Tui and La_ Kai! I’ve sacrificed three years of my life already, running around cleaning up after everyone, giving up my childhood and for what! For everyone to think I just died in some freak accident? I miss my dad, I miss my gran-gran, I miss the cold!”

Both men winced listening to her pleas.

“I’m sorry Katara. It has to be this way.” Kai couldn’t look her in the eyes anymore.

She glared at him once more before standing up and taking off towards the exit. Zuko stood up watching her before placing a hand on Kai’s shoulder.

“Look she’s just frustrated right now. I’ll talk to her. It’s not your fault and you guys are making the right call. I’ll extend our stay at the inn until Sokka can meet with us. Just have the manager get Lee and Ming from their room. Be safe Kai.”

The two nodded at each other before Zuko rushed out of the tavern to catch up to Katara. He could hear her muttering under her breath as he reached out to grab her hand to spin her around. Her face still held a scowl and he braced himself for the yelling to continue. Instead he watched her face fall into an anguished frown with tears brimming. Her gaze turned distant and she let out a few shaky breaths. 

“Oh Zuko, could things get any worse.”

He pulled her into his chest, resting his chin on top of her head as she began to soak through his top. 

“I-I’m just so angry. And I shouldn’t be.”

“You’re allowed to be angry Katara.” He whispered as he ran his fingers through the ends of her hair. 

“I feel like everything I was holding onto was just ripped away from me.” She sniffled. 

“I know the feeling.”

“What if the Fire Nation finds us Zuko? I’m scared.” 

_Ah._

He scoffed.

“They won’t. And if they do? They’re no match for the best waterbender of our times _and_ the greatest earthbender in the world.”

She pulled back from his chest and turned her head up to give him a watery smile. He returned her look with a smirk.

“Believe me Azula is more scared of you than anything. Now let's go get some rest and let our friends know we might be stuck here a little longer.”

They walked back to the inn hand in hand. Deep down he was terrified by the news Kai had given them tonight, but for the sake of Katara he decided to push it aside and be strong. While she dealt with the emotional distress he would hold in his worries until she was better. But how could he not fret over the news that the Avatar couldn’t perform his duties. Something in his gut told him they wouldn’t be able to go home for a long time.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Meta Bits:  
> Yikessss....  
> Kori is a badass and idk if you caught the name slip-ups last chapter ;)
> 
> Ty basically has her big moment in this chapter. She was sorta just along for the ride before, now her loyalties have been shifted. Also yes Tyzula was a thing, more on that later (it was not healthy clearly lol).
> 
> Shupan Port is a city I made up but the place is very real in ATLA! It's the town June was in that bar at the end of the series. I kinda made it into this sketchy village lol.
> 
> Kai is back! ahhhh my baby. Finally he found them. Him and Katara's relationship is my fave. Also I just want to say I know some arranged marriages are perfectly healthy and a normal part of some cultures, Kai is against it for his character. It doesn't reflect my personal views. 
> 
> Katara... she's not really getting a break is she? Really she's so tired and also wants her family. They all had these expectations from the war ending and I want to explore how they handle not getting these fulfilled.
> 
> Next chapter we get to see what the resistance has been up to for the past two months! See ya Wednesday (:


	10. Dead Ends

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A bit of a shorter chapter today, but I like the way everything flowed like this.
> 
> Back with the resistance and our favorite warriors, Sokka and Suki.

“What? Is that all you’ve got? Don’t tell me you’re going soft on me Suki.”

As she held her bruised ribs she eyed Hua, taking in her dark eyes and flushed porcelain skin. 

“Please,” she panted, “you think a little bruise is gonna keep me down.”

Suki smirked before lunging forward, swiftly exchanging blows with the tiny warrior. Hua used her small frame to her advantage, quickly dodging each attack before striking with her own jabs. Her fighting style was agile and aggressive. She defended easily, but was never hesitant to move to the offensive. When Suki pushed her into a corner she swiftly slipped under her arm, twisting around to grab her wrist and pin her against the wall. 

“You were saying?” Hua chuckled into her ear, keeping her chest firmly pinned to the wall, her free hand pushing her shoulder forward. 

She released her grip and Suki stepped away from the wall rolling her shoulders back before shaking out her arms. 

“Good session Hua.”

She caught the small towel thrown to her and watched her friend wipe the sweat from her forehead, her long black hair swinging about in it’s high ponytail.

“A little off your game General?” Hua’s voice was playful.

Suki sighed and wiped the sweat off her neck, “Something like that.”

“You know,” her voice grew serious, “you could always talk to me.”

“They’re not your problems to burden.”

“You act like they’re yours.” Her partner scoffed.

Their eyes locked and Suki released a long exhale before beginning to change out of her sweaty clothes.

“Sokka’s doing his best.”

“I never mentioned Sokka.” Hua calmly chided. 

“You didn’t have to.” Suki snapped.

The other warrior took a calm breath with sadness in her eyes, observing her as she finished getting dressed. 

“Look I hear the whispers, okay? I know what people are saying.” Suki rubbed her brow with her palm. “But there’s so many things you don’t understand. He’s doing what he can and him and I are a team. I’m going to be there for him and right now he needs me to be strong.”

“Even if it kills you.”

They held eye contact until Suki looked away, studying the small nicks in the grey concrete. 

“Get some sleep Suki, you look like shit. See you tomorrow.”

Hua slipped out, slamming the metal door behind her. Suki balled her hands into fists and kicked the closest bench, releasing an angry cry. She left the training room and rushed to her quarters, immediately heading to the sink. Her hands shook as she splashed cold water on her face before looking over her appearance in the mirror. 

She hated that her subordinate was completely right. The past two months were written all over her face. Eyes bloodshot, bags a dark purple, cheeks sunken in, and hair in disarray. 

The late nights and early mornings were taking a toll on her body and mind. It was just getting worse with each passing week. But what other choice did she have? 

The resistance would be in a limbo without her fulfilling every role. Their leader was too busy playing babysitter for the Avatar, forcing her to pick up the slack to maintain the carefully built system. Her days were stuffed to the brim with her and Sokka’s duties overlapping into one big mess. Somehow she was balancing creating assignments for each regiment, overseeing the orders for the supply train, participating in joint training sessions, meeting with each division leader, training her own warriors, and sorting through any new intelligence reports. In between each task her right hand, Hua, would stuff pieces of bread into her hand forcing her to eat. When she was lucky she got to fit in a quick spar to let out her frustrations. 

Sleep was a luxury that she was too broke to afford. Often she fell asleep at her desk, waking up to a light blanket wrapped around her shoulders and a warm cup of ginger tea to start her mornings. Sometimes she pretended it was Sokka visiting her at night, but reality had a way of crashing down each morning in the form of a small note scribbled with the familiar cursive of the black haired warrior.

Nothing had prepared her for the role she now filled. 

________

Another night spent pouring over the new scrolls brought in by the White Lotus to no avail. His eyes were dry from staring at various texts for the past eight hours. This was how his life was wasting away for the past two months, in a meaningless cycle. 

There was no mention of ‘energybending’ or ‘Lion Turtles’ in all the thousands of words he read. He felt desperate to find answers that seemed nonexistent. Sokka grabbed a small lantern from the desk before taking off towards the kitchen. 

Yue kept him company as he walked through the empty grounds, only the faint sigh of the wind breezing through the trees hinting at reality outside of his buzzing mind. 

How had everything gone to shit so fast?

Aang, Suki, his dad. 

It’s as if he couldn’t function normally anymore, every conversation ending in bitter arguments with no clear winner. 

“I refuse and none of you can force me to do anything!”

The young airbender’s voice reverberated in his head, repeating the words he shouted in that morning’s training session. Sokka shook his head, willing away worries that couldn’t be solved. Aang was right, they couldn’t force him to do anything. Until the Avatar decided to continue combat training, all his teachers could do was sit around and wait. 

He stepped through the kitchen threshold walking over to warm up a pot of hot water. Reaching a shelf above the stove he grabbed a bag of dried leaves, tossing in a handful to the boiling water not caring for his carelessness in preparing the tea. He could never be bothered with the meticulous nature, unlike Zuko who took a strange pride in methodically steeping the various strains. _Had taken. He’s probably dead._

Sokka sighed, closing his eyes, and rubbing at his temples with his thumbs. 

How had he been so ignorant? Sending Kai on a fool's mission. Setting up a safe house for three dead people. Even if they found them, nothing could ever be the same.

Water began bubbling over the pot, spilling onto the stovetop. He quickly doused the flame, straining his tea into a cup. The scalding liquid was bitter on his tongue, reminding him of the taste the war left in his mouth.

There was no time to lounge around wallowing in self pity, so he took his leave to return to his study. As he walked through the vacant stronghold his eyes were drawn to the faint light emitting from Suki’s quarters. 

_Up late again._

He should stop by, but he couldn’t bring himself to face another failure.

With that he hooked a sharp right away from the only thing keeping him from falling apart. 

________

The motions of her arms and legs effortlessly weaving through kicks and punches was sending her into a meditative trance. Her body moved through muscle memory guiding each step in a perfect attack. Her opponent never had a chance, Hua was always the only soldier who could keep up.

Suki lunged low, sweeping her leg across the floor straight into the ankles of the Earth Kingdom soldier. His back slammed into the floor, but he rolled over pushing off the floor with the palm of his hand to rise again. Before he could strike, she kicked straight into his chest thrusting him back as he choked on his breath. He wouldn’t give up, trying to push back up to a standing position. There was no hesitation as she straddled his body pinning his arms with her knees. Small strands loosened from the messy bun tied behind his head as he struggled to break free. 

Her arm snapped back before catching him right in the jaw. His head lolled to the side, blood dribbling from the corner. She roughly gripped his chin, forcing him to face her, both chests violently heaving.

“Next time I won’t go easy on you so you better watch that filthy mouth around my warriors.”

Without Zuko around some of the male soldiers had gotten lip around her division, making snarky remarks in passing. This particular one made a comment about how useless it was to have a bunch of girls running around in dresses fighting when they could be used for better purposes. She didn’t need to ask what that meant. 

The crowd dispersed, Hua following behind her as she headed to her office. Only about an hour remained for her to sort through the new missives before she had to head over to her favorite part of the day, training her Warriors. She loved spending this time refining her own skills along with practicing with new weapons found in the Pohuai artillery. 

“That was quite impressive General, nice to see you looking so fired up about something.” 

Suki glanced over at her friend humming in approval. 

“These men think they can do whatever they want now that Zuko is gone. They need to be reminded of their place, and I’ll be happy to provide that reality check.” The corner of her mouth lifted into a smirk.

Hua cleared her throat, “General Sokka has requested your presence in tomorrow's training… again.”

“My schedule is packed.”

“I don’t mean to overstep—”

“Then don’t.”

The small girl looked away, rubbing one of her wrists with the opposite hand. 

It had been a month since she stopped attending the Avatar’s training sessions. At first she was all too willing to help support Aang fall back into a familiar routine. Sokka figured their presence would ease his anxiety and allow them to keep an eye on his progress. The first two weeks were easy going throughout the base, each group dealing with the grief of the loss of three important figures. By the third, work began again as the reality of their failure set in. Intelligence reports showed that Azula had taken control of the Fire Nation and Ozai was making plans with his army for an upcoming attack in retaliation for their failure in destroying the Earth Kingdom.

Instead of focusing on rebuilding his strength the Avatar decided to treat each session as a time to bombard Suki and Sokka with questions regarding their dead friends. Each time Sokka began to break a little more as he retold the story of the explosion, painfully answering each detailed inquiry. One day when Aang chastised Sokka for not bringing Katara along on Appa, Suki finally snapped. She stormed off after shouting at the Avatar, the Water Tribe warrior hot on her tail. 

Once she entered her quarters the argument continued with Sokka taking each hit of her anger. 

He cut in and began to lecture her about having more patience with the young monk and she felt her resolve crumble. 

“Get out.” She hissed.

“Suki…”

“I said get out! I don’t want to see your face right now!”

When she slammed her door closed she turned around falling against it. Her body slid to the floor with sobs overtaking her body.

From then on she pretended the Avatar didn’t exist, burying herself with work. She avoided Sokka like the plague, creating excuses whenever he tried to seek her out. On the off chance they did talk the conversations would always end in arguments. 

She wasn’t caring enough. He wasn’t doing enough. 

He couldn’t deal with the Avatar on his own. She couldn't deal with everything else that was his responsibility.

She was always busy. He was never around.

He was _tired_. She was _exhausted_.

She resented the young monk and she hated herself for it.

________

Sokka sat on the steps struggling to keep his eyes open as Aang argued with Pakku in the center of the training grounds. He was supposed to practice water bending combat but was refusing to fight, just like he had the past two weeks. 

Suddenly Sokka was laying in a familiar bed of white, plush furs surrounding his body. He shifted around blinking his eyes open before taking in the warm body laying next to him. Shocked, he reached over to pull the furs down taking in the soft features on her face in the delicate blue light of the early morning. The back of his fingers began to trace along her cheeks, moving to trace the plump pink of her lips. Suki looked like an angel with her face relaxed and the missing glint in her fierce eyes. He was so lucky to witness her beauty this way. 

Before he had enough time to fully take in the sight a small figure hopped onto the bed shaking her awake. Her drowsy eyes blinked open with a soft smile.

“Sorry mom I told him not to wake you!”

Sokka turned toward the voice and found a young girl with Suki’s hair, bright blue eyes, and his own skin tone. She couldn’t be older than Aang when they first found him in the iceberg. 

“Shutup Yue! You can’t tell me what to do. I'm 8 years old now!”

Suki lightly chuckled before addressing the young boy. 

“Hakoda don’t speak to your sister like that, apologize.” 

He turned to the small boy taking in the pouting lips and matching set of eyes to his sister’s. His hair looked just like his own, dark and messy, but his skin was as pale as Suki’s. 

“Sorry.” He mumbled, his face squishing up in discomfort.

Sokka was confused and in awe all at once. Were these his… their children?

They looked like the perfect blend of their mother and father. He couldn’t keep his gaping mouth closed as he felt tears begin to brim in his eyes. 

“Sokka… Sokka?”

A small hand was roughly shaking his shoulder.

“General Sokka!”

He jerked awake to the sight of wide black eyes greeting him. Hua was crouching in front of him, gripping his arm with her slim fingers. Over her shoulder he could see Aang sitting in the middle of the training grounds in a lotus position, ignoring Pakku who was still arguing with him. 

The Kyoshi warrior released his arm and stood up saluting him. 

“You don’t have to do that Hua, what’s going on?”

“General Suki has requested your presence, sir!”

He perked up. She hadn’t asked to see him in almost a month, she was always fleeing in different directions when he was caught in her peripheral. Within seconds he stood up beckoning Hua to follow him.

“I have an important meeting Aang, I’ll be back later!”

Pakku let out a groan as he left the courtyard. Hua almost couldn’t keep up with his quick pace as he raced to Suki’s office. He let out a shaky breath before pushing the door open with his shoulder. She was sitting on the edge of a desk clutching a piece of parchment in her right hand, as her left played with her lip. Sokka wanted to reach over and smooth the wrinkle between her brows, but instead he kept his hands firmly at his sides. 

“You may leave Hua, thank you.”

Her eyes slowly trailed up and down his figure with a small frown, before settling her gaze on his own. 

“I got a missive from Kai.”

He held his breath.

“He found them. They’re alive.” Suki’s voice broke.

For the first time in his life Sokka found himself speechless. There was no way. It was a _fool’s mission. How could they have survived?_

“We should send a reply and try to meet with them as soon as possible. It sounds like Katara is having a hard time with the news.”

“Uh, right let’s do that.”

They crafted a return letter to be sent through a messenger hawk. The silence was awkward with a thick tension between the two. He wanted to tell her about his strange dream and hold her in his arms, but how could he make up for the past month of avoiding her. How could he fix the mess he left for her to clean up?

“I have to go train my girls, I’ll see you later? We need to figure out what we’re going to tell them.”

“Suki I—”

“Not now Sokka, it’s not the time.” She shook her head before walking out of the room, leaving him alone once again.

Releasing an exhausted sigh, he slumped into the vacant chair.

“When will it be Suki? I miss you.” He spoke to the empty room.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Meta Bits:  
> Well... could you tell I was listening to sad music as I wrote this. I did warn that the happy chapters were over ):
> 
> It made me sad to write Sokka and Suki having such a strained relationship. There's a lot going on in their dynamic and I hope it all makes sense. 
> 
> Suki is really in a tough position and neither is in the right or wrong. Kind of just doing what they can and not taking care of each other. They're kind of the forefront of the force now, unlike before I felt like Katara/Zuko were the backbone in the second leg of season 3. This is exploring how it would effect their relationship, especially with the added stressors. 
> 
> I really love Hua as well. She's basically Suki's right hand girl. Yes the fight scene had so much tension I literally couldn't help myself lmfaoooo I literally was like omg do I ship this(?!). what's wrong with me.
> 
> I wanted to add something lol, the descriptions referring to Aang are from Suki's POV, she's frustrated with him. Sokka is more gentle because they have a different bond. Please understand I'm writing as the characters but not my personal opinion.
> 
> See ya Friday... for the big reunion!


End file.
